The gardens are located behind the WRAL Studios at the corner of Avent Ferry Road and Western Blvd. in Raleigh adjacent to the campus of North Carolina State University.

They started in 1959 when A.J. Fletcher, the founder of the Capitol Broadcasting Company, planted 1,000 shrubs. The gardens have been expanded until they reach all the way to Centennial Parkway. They are laid out in a heavily wooded area that is slightly sloped to better display the plants.

The long-standing tradition is for people to visit the gardens around Easter Sunday, when the azaleas are in peak bloom. Christian Easter and Orthodox Easter fell on the same day this year, so the blooms were before Easter. The plants were starting to fade for those who waited until then.

People enjoying the tulips

double azalea

flame azalea

stacked shrubs

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