Welcome!

The University of North Carolina
 at Charlotte

Botanical Gardens

McMillan Greenhouse
9201 University City Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28223

(704) 687-2364
(704) 687-2870

"Sharing the world of plants with people"

       The UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens consists of a notable combination of outdoor and indoor garden facilities on campus.  Our three main garden areas are the Van Landingham Glen, the Susie Harwood Garden, and the McMillan Greenhouse.  The 7-acre Van Landingham Glen is a woodland garden showcasing  native plants of the Carolinas, as well as being  one of the most diverse rhododendron gardens in the Southeast.  The 3-acre  Harwood Garden boasts year-round attraction - with an impressive diversity of hardy ornamental landscape plants,  meandering paths, a pond with waterfalls, an oriental gazebo, and naturalistic rock-work throughout.  The McMillan Greenhouse complex  consists of 8 "rooms", plus surrounding beds, terraces, and a courtyard bog garden featuring carnivorous pitcher plant hybrids.  The greenhouse contains  an outstanding orchid collection, a rainforest conservatory, desert succulents, and many plants from the world's tropical habitats.
       A fortunate combination of campus setting and enthusiastic benefactors has made the gardens possible.  The gardens were founded in the mid-1960s with the inspired leadership of Dr. Herbert Hechenbleikner, professor of biology emeritus. The greenhouse and gardens serve as a resource to the campus community, as well as the greater Charlotte community and its visitors.   A wide variety of classes utilize the facilities to differing degrees - from the plant-related Biology courses taught in the greenhouse classroom to art classes using the outdoor gardens as inspiration to technical writing classes designing informative text about the greenhouse.   We have visitors from all over the United States (and the world!), and serve as a home base to several plant societies and a local garden club.  The support of the University, donations and endowments from passionate individuals, the dedicated and knowledgeable staff, volunteers from the community, and student workers are all integral parts of our success.  We invite you to visit the Botanical Gardens, experience this world of plants, and come back often.