Tryon Palace Welcomes Spring with its Annual Garden Lovers’ Weekend and Spring Plant Sale

(NEW BERN, NC) April 3, 2026 -Tryon Palace is celebrating spring with its annual Garden Lovers' Weekend on April 10 – 12, and Spring Plant Sale on April 10 – 11. Tryon Palace is part of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR).  

Garden Lovers’ Weekend offers FREE Gardens Passes to the public. It is the perfect time to come out and view the vibrant flowers that the warm weather has brought to the Tryon Palace Gardens. Our fabulous tulips are in full bloom, as are hyacinths, peonies, Lenten roses and more. The tulips in the Palace’s Latham Garden are the most photographed of our gardens each spring. Outside the Palace gates, the gardens of our historic homes are also stunning. Take some time to stroll through the Palace gardens, the Stanly House garden, the Commission House garden, the Jones House garden, and the Carraway and Stoney gardens behind the Waystation, as well as wander around the flower beds in front of the Dixon and Daves Houses just outside the Palace front gates. In addition, you might catch some of our local plein air artists painting in the gardens as part of the citywide Arts in April events, and on Saturday, April 11, you can watch fencing skirmishes on the South Lawn of the Palace. The Palace Gardens are open for Garden Lovers’ Weekend on April 10 – 12, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.   

April is National Gardening Month, and arriving just in time to get your gardens ready for the season is the Tryon Palace Spring Garden Sale on Friday and Saturday, April 10 and 11, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The sale offers herb and vegetable varieties, as well as ENC adapted shrubs, hanging baskets and annuals. There will be many Tryon Palace homegrown perennial varieties not offered anywhere else, so come early to take home your favorites. Tryon Palace Garden staff will be available to answer questions and help guide you on the best options for your yard.

While enjoying Garden Lovers’ Weekend and the Plant Sale, be sure to stop by Try Yarn: Fiber Arts in the Commission House, located at 610 Pollock Street. There you can step into the world of historic and modern fiber arts and watch skilled artists demonstrate traditional spinning and weaving techniques, transforming raw, natural materials into beautiful woven creations.

 For more information, please visit our website at https://www.tryonpalace.org/calendar,  or call 252-639-3525.