Conservatory Kiosk

In 2013, this garden was given by Alexander Rankin, III in memory of Bob and Nanabeth Rankin and Ed and Tootsie Rankin Pleasants. It was added to the main campus entrance to welcome our visiting guests and prospective students. Composed of annuals, perennials, bulbs, and evergreens, this garden exemplifies the diversity and vibrancy that is HPU.

Our Knot Garden, of Elizabethan style, given by Phyllis and James Morgan, is appropriately situated in front of Hayworth Fine Arts Center. It features a design mimicking the small window over the door of Wrenn Hall. Outlining the garden is a sheared hedge of yaupon holly, while the interiors are filled with seasonal color creating a beautiful tapestry.

Nestled between the Hayworth Fine Arts Center and Congdon Hall is a fitting place of honor for the late HPU Administrator and Professor Dr. Epperson, mirroring his love of the arts and sciences. His 40 years of service to HPU and impact on campus is echoed through the many selections from his personal garden which fill this space.

This garden provides the campus an outdoor place for prayer and reflection, centered on the ancient practice of Labyrinth walking. It was given in honor of Chris ‘83 and Kim Hensons’ loving marriage.

The Bonnie H. Smith Prayer Garden provides a peaceful and reverent extension of the Hayworth Chapel for prayer.

Teresa's Garden located outside of the Don and Teresa Caine Conservatory serves as a space for people to relax and enjoy the views outside of the Butterfly Café. The hardscape inside the garden is designed to give the impression of the branches of a tree, with the branches surrounded by lush greenery and flowers. Plants in Teresa's Garden have been specifically curated for year-round interest for visitors of the conservatory to enjoy all times of the year.

The Caine Conservatory, given by alumnus Don ’65 and his wife Teresa who is a member of the Board of Trustees, will provide 15,000 square feet of space for students and faculty to conduct botanical research and propagate plants for the gardens across campus. A classroom, working greenhouse, new eatery and planting display space for the community at large will be housed in the facility. It will be completed in 2019.

Named for HPU alumni Patrick and Ryan Scarborough, this garden is a welcoming habitat, complete with a pond and waterfall, for butterflies and caterpillars. Longtime HPU Vice-President Dr. Don Scarborough provided generous support in order to bring this garden to fruition. The late Marsha and Jack Slane made possible the addition of a butterfly bench.

The Topiary Fusion Garden, located in the Mahler Family Promenade, was designed to encompass all the aspects of the natural sciences. For example, the walkways that surround the garden are meant to mimic the motion of the atom. The plants, selected for their ability to be pruned into fanciful shapes, were planted with perfect symmetry In the garden to provide a formal appearance.

Completed in the spring of 2025, the Memorial Garden is a final resting place for the ashes of the generous individuals who took part in our Willed Body Program. Leaving your body to further scientific research and trainings of healthcare students is a huge gift, and this garden is meant to honor that gift and provide a place of remembrance for their loved ones.

Incorporated within the landscape surrounding the Congdon School of Health Sciences are many plants that are used either directly or indirectly for medicinal use. Interpretative material can be found guiding visitors throughout this garden. This garden was given by Dr. and Mrs. R. Wade Markham and family.

HPU alumnus Buddy Deal and his wife Doris originally donated this garden to decorate the entry of campus. The garden was relocated in 2016 with an expansion of the plantings. More than 200 different taxa of plants fill this garden providing an everchanging tapestry of floral and foliage.

Named in honor of Pat Plaxico, who donated her time and world-renowned design expertise in the interiors of several campus buildings, this garden houses a collection of old-fashioned climbing roses that frame a beautiful arbor and various climbing structures located on the back patio of the Nido R. Qubein School of Communication.

An expansive garden located behind Cottrell Hall centered around a recirculating waterfall, one can enjoy the sound of several thousand gallons of water from either of two patios and take in the plantings of numerous mixed bulbs, perennials, grasses, shrubs and trees as well as the filigree hedges on either side.

Located behind Cottrell Hall, the Cottrell Japanese Garden will feature a tiered waterfall and pond, a stone terrace and a Japanese-style tea house. Walking paths will weave through the garden and offer visitors a peaceful retreat and a way to enjoy the garden’s natural beauty and tranquility.

Acclaimed landscape architect Sadafumi Uchiyama, who served as the chief curator of the Portland Japanese Garden, will design HPU’s Japanese garden.

Located within the enclosed courtyard of the R.G. Wanek Center, this garden features many plants which possess white or pale flowers or plants which showcase themselves in the evening hours either through fragrance or foliage.

An amazing blend of azaleas, hydrangeas, and camellias complement other shrubs and perennials in this new garden located in front of Millis Gym. This garden overlooks the High Point Greenway and athletic fields.

Serving as encouragement for our athletes and students, this garden features shrubs and flowers shaped to spell out “Go HPU” alongside Millis Center. It was given by George and Kellie Holbrook, and David and Amy Smith in appreciation of Scott and Courtney Cherry.

The plaza features a cascading fountain, firepit, and seating area. The garden beds flanking the fountain host a variety of perennials and annual flowers that bloom with a red, white, and blue theme. True blue is a rare color in nature, but we approximate it with the bluish purples of Allium 'Millenium' and Flip Side® Vitex. Prostrate Deodar cedars add a frosty blue-green hue to the mix. Representing red, there are echinacea, drift roses, and autumn sage. White-blooming gayfeathers, hydrangeas, and garden phlox complete the colorscape.

This garden has the unique feature of a microclimate which lessens the impact of winter, promoting survival of plants which would struggle through winter. Featuring a blend of hardy and seasonal plants, this garden is a taste of the tropics right here in High Point, NC.

The aesthetically pleasing yet functional Lakeside Gardens serve as a basin to receive runoff water from surrounding areas. The selection of plants within this garden adapt and thrive in a range of soil conditions, whether receiving occasional precipitation or planted in standing water.

Originally planted with 122 varieties, this garden was built by HPU faculty and staff volunteers with donations from their own gardens. This dynamic collection is continually growing with additions each year.

The Dogwood Grove started with the planting of various Kousa dogwoods, a relative of our native dogwood, and continues to expand with added cultivars. Beds of bulbs and perennials reveal spring and summer colors throughout the grove.

This garden, given by Mark and Julie Phillips, was created to showcase sculptures crafted by HPU students. The first student collaborated piece, “Portal To Knowledge,” was installed in the garden in 2010. The garden continues to expand and evolve with permanent and rotating exhibits.

Named for Daphne Horney, this garden is a reflective space surrounding the lower pond behind Blessing Hall. The class of 2008 gifted an arbor clothed in wisteria, which is a dominant feature of the garden. Fragrant selections such as wisteria, gardenias and daphne delight the senses through the seasons.

Located across the creek behind Blessing, this garden expands on the original 9/11 memorial daffodil garden started by SGA in November 2001. Hosta and other companion plants will continue the patriotic theme either in flower, foliage color or name. In the fall, within this central bed is a planting of Lycoris squamigera (Resurrection Lily) and other fall blooming bulbs. The diverse bulbs throughout this garden provide interest year round.

Located behind Blessing Residence Hall, this garden takes advantage of the existing tree layer and slope to provide a blend of textures, colors, and forms to create a relaxing environment. This unique four season garden transitions into an array of textures and colors as the seasons change.

Winding its way around the Slane Center, bordering the walkway, and continuing behind Blessing Hall, this garden offers a colorful contrast to the neighboring ponds and splashing fountains. In 2009, a generous donation of 50 Encore® Azaleas from Pender Nursery (Garner, NC) was a welcomed expansion to the collection. Hues ranging from ruby reds to pinks and purples from well over 100 different azaleas, deciduous and evergreen, erupt in spring with some rebloom occurring in fall--truly a magnificent sight to behold

This garden yields both fresh herbs for the campus chef and an area where students can sit and enjoy the fragrances and textures within its walls. Dusty Maynard (High Point, NC) donated an Armillary, a type of sundial, to the garden in honor of his wife and university trustee, Kay Maynard.

Bill Minor ‘50 dedicated this garden in memory of his wife, Louise. A low hedge of yaupon holly forming an infinity symbol frames the landscape. Throughout the year, lively color combinations fill the garden’s intricate structure.

Eleanor Horsey Ridley Rose Garden University Trustee Clarence Ridley (Atlanta, GA) made a generous contribution to the university in order to maintain the rose garden named in honor of his wife. The garden contains over 50 different selections of hybrid tea, floribunda, grandiflora, shrub, and David Austin English Roses.