Were you thinking of bringing Mom flowers this Mother’s Day? Why not bring her to the flowers via a delightful detour to Delaware Botanic Gardens instead? Every mother who visits on Mother’s Day, bearing a nonperishable food item to be donated to the Delaware Food Bank, receives free admission. So why not seize the opportunity? Click here for a complete list of requested food donations.
Truth be told, though, you need not wait until Mother’s Day to visit. With its convenient Dagsboro location in Sussex County, Delaware Botanic Gardens is just a drive away from all those major beach destinations, including Rehoboth, Dewey, Lewes, Bethany, Fenwick Island, Ocean View, and Ocean City. That makes for a great alternate day trip option, and a beautifully bucolic one at that!
From its serene and pristine oasis-like setting to its standout status as the only botanic garden in southern Delaware, the story behind the establishment of Delaware Botanic Gardens at Pepper Creek is one of admiration, perseverance, inspiration, and ongoing commitment. It remains one of the area’s best-kept secrets—a hidden treasure to seek out.
Humble Beginnings
It was in 2012 that the idea for the gardens first came about. Born of a desire to establish a dual educational and recreational initiative to serve the community, a group of garden-enthused locals banded together to make the dream into a reality. They founded the nonprofit Southern Delaware Botanic Gardens, Inc., later renamed the Delaware Botanic Gardens at Pepper Creek (DBG). It’s important to mention that they’ve been pretty independent and hands-on from the very start, doing all the major work themselves and utilizing their own resources without any assistance or financial backing from wealthy benefactors. The all-volunteer organization comprises a Board of Directors and an Advisory Council well-versed in horticulture, management, and performing a host of other versatile garden and landscape-oriented tasks.
The passion project took several years to plan and finalize, but the groundbreaking finally got underway in 2016. The chosen location was a 37-acre former soybean farm on Pepper Creek, which the Sussex Land Trust agreed to lease out to the organization for just $1 a year over the next 99 years.
Grand Opening
Delaware Botanic Gardens was finally ready to open to the public by September 2019. In just the last few years alone, it has emerged as one of the area’s newest regional attractions. Still a hidden gem, however, the gardens garner more and more of a positive reputation each day, as more folks come out to discover it for themselves.
These gardens serve as the natural living habitat for various pollinators and an abundance of different bird and mammal species. Some of the countless animals that make their homes here include squirrels, deer, herons, ospreys, eagles, owls, woodpeckers, and even river otters among so many others.
The Lay of the Land
The gardens encompass so many versatile land features. These include a 25-acre flat uplands plateau, 12.5-acre sloped woodlands with freshwater wetlands, meadowlands, and 1,000 feet of waterfront with tidal wetlands. Visitors can enjoy plenty of adorning garden marvels throughout the premises, with five featured main gardens serving as anchoring callouts.
The first area you’ll come to upon arriving here is the half-acre Rhyne Garden, which boasts an impressive array of 12,000 flowering plants (all native), along with 300 shrubs and Brandywine Red Maples.
Next, is the Meadow Garden and Great Lawn. Spanning two acres, this fabulous display of 70,000 perennials and grasses was designed by none other than world-renowned Dutch Plantsman Piet Oudolf. It is unquestionably the star garden attraction to come out and see.
With its focus on education through gardening comes the Dogfish Head Learning Garden (sponsored by Dogfish Beer of Milton, Delaware). This features a wetlands pond and a designated outdoor classroom. Another outdoor classroom is the Learning Nest, situated in the Woodlands.
The Folly Garden sits on the site of the property’s original 20th-century farmhouse and even uses some of the former foundation in its overall display and presentation. Highlighted features here include the reflecting pond and circa 37,500 bulbs and plants, which are shaded by walnut trees.
The Knoll Garden sits at the site’s highest point—at a stunning 17-foot elevation just up a set of rocky steps in the Woodlands, right along the trail heading for Pepper Creek.
The Woodlands themselves boast several stunning attributes. Not only are they home to countless creatures but also acres of largely untouched, unaltered stratified forest. Sloping down from here is the aforementioned 1,000-foot frontage on Pepper Creek. Comprising the forested wetlands is a showcase of a unique ensemble of plant varieties (some that are even threatened and vanishing), along with boggy marsh-like terrain—a preserve of sorts.
Pepper Creek is unique in that it serves somewhat as a confluence of both fresh and saltwater bodies. Spanning eight miles, the creek begins close to Cypress Swamp, just three miles north of the Delaware-Maryland state line. From Delaware Botanic Gardens it flows into the Indian River Bay.
Throughout the Gardens, visitors can take to a host of diverse walking trails, observation sites, and other unique areas. Even better, all are designed to be ADA-compliant for those with disabilities, special needs, and other limited mobility. You may choose to explore on your own or even take part in a guided tour of the site.
Ongoing Mission
Delaware Botanic Gardens offer so much to visitors. Furthermore, the organization is forever succeeding in carrying out its founding mission to increase habitat and species diversity and productivity by providing an important ecological benefit to southern Delaware. Special events and activities are held onsite here regularly, which you can learn more about via the calendar link on their website. But truth be told, any time you visit is a special event.
Hours of operation for Delaware Botanic Gardens are between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday through Sunday. The regular adult admission rate is $15 a person. Guided tours are $10. The Gardens are located at 30220 Piney Neck Road, Dagsboro, DE 19939. For all other information about Delaware Botanic Gardens at Pepper Creek, visit the website at www.delawaregardens.org.