North Carolina features some of America's most beautiful public gardens and home landscapes. Charlotte gave birth to one of the first Garden Clubs where the legacy of southern horticulture is still cultivated today. This beautiful city of the old South enjoys one of the best climates for outdoor living due to the moderating influence of the Atlantic coast that reduces the heat and humidity of the long summer season inland.

This is the largest city of the Carolina Piedmont, a plateau of good soil and excellent growing conditions that runs along the eastern seaboard. It fans out between the mountains and the coastal plain where local designers and contractors share a strong grasp of the many fine native plants such as dogwood and azalea that hail from this region. North Carolina is strongly urging water conservation and therefore local landscapers are using many excellent natives of the Southeastern plant communities which are naturally adapted to growing under rainfall without irrigation.

While land is scarce within Charlotte proper, city gardens will be small and intensely used. Roof gardens and terraces are similar. The ability to understand spatial limitations is essential when choosing the right designer for an urban home.

There are many fine gardens to visit around Charlotte, and these are the best places to learn more about the plants and landscaping. Local garden clubs and charities often hold home garden tours in the spring as fund raisers, which are the best way to see these secluded oases in neighborhoods occupied since the Revolutionary War. One of the best places to see a true southern garden is at Wing Haven where an historic home is open to the public along with its romantic setting. At University of North Carolina, Charlotte is an excellent botanical garden, and rose lovers will want to see McGill Rose Garden before designing beds for cut flowers.

Due to the limited amount of housing in the city, outlying towns have grown into beautiful residential communities an easy commute to Charlotte for work or to popular Boomerang Bay Water Park in summer. To the east is Gastonia, which is the gateway to the fabulous Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden on NC 279. This newly built landscape was designed by world class architects and features elegant gardens new enough to be excellent inspiration for contemporary home landscapes. Many local events are held here in the large building that provides opportunities for design and horticulture classes and presentations.

Northeast of Charlotte is Concord, with its Charlotte Motor Speedway, home to popular NASCAR events. Further north is Huntersville, the gateway to Lake Norman and its recreation areas. Situated on the east bank of the lake is Mooresville, home to many famous NASCAR racing teams. All of these communities are examples of beautiful old towns that feature a wealth of historic homes in neighborhoods ideal for restoration and creation of traditional yet comfortable outdoor landscapes and entertaining areas. In the newer outlying subdivisions, landscapes are designed for family life by offering outdoor spaces for relaxation and dining in the long warm season.