Grandfather (5,968 feet) and Grandmother (5,000 feet) Mountains from point near Highlands Nursery 
A Quarter-Century Story of Wild Flowers 
At the summit of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and on the slopes of the famous Grand¬ 
father Mountain, towering 5,978 feet into the clouds, in a region of grand natural beauties and 
almost Alpine climate, is located Highlands Nursery, a unique wild plant and flower-garden. 
Here the thermometer often drops in winter to io° to 15 0 Fahr. below zero, while in summer 
8o° is unusually warm. Highlands Nursery itself at 3,800 feet altitude, is beautifully situated on 
the banks of the Linville River, a clear, cold, tumbling mountain trout stream, and on its grounds 
are to be found every variety of soil condition, making congenial surroundings for the wild shrubs 
and flowers that find a home here. 
A Half-Acre Beginning 
From a small half-acre beginning, just twenty-five years ago, on which were less than a thousand 
plants in seventeen species, offered for side in a small four-page circular, has grown a “Wild-Flower” 
establishment of over 100 acres in extent on which are grown some 600 species of Hardy Native 
Trees, Shrubs, Bulbs, Ferns, Vines, Herbaceous Perennials and Bog, Water and Insectivorous 
Plants. Single species are grown by tens of thousands. 
Native vs. Exotic Plants 
When we started, “American Plants” were not planted and were in fact quite unknown to 
Americans, though sought for and highly prized in the best English and Continental gardens. 
We feel justly proud of the work we have accomplished in making our Native Plants known and 
used, for, while a few years ago they were almost entirely excluded from American parks, lawns 
and gardens, they are now planted by hundreds of thousands, and appreciated and enjoyed as never 
before. Each year sees them better known, more widely planted and- more loved by those to whom 
natural rather than exotic effects appeal, and who desire permanent finished planting rather than 
the unfortunate replanting continually required where the so-called “cultivated” plants are used 
exclusively. 
New Introductions 
The exquisite Azalea vaseyi and that most beautiful of all American evergreens, the Carolina 
Hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana) , both just discovered, were our first introductions. Since then we 
have introduced to general use, either new or little known, the Flame-colored Azalea (Azalea lulca ), 
Azalea arborescens, the American Camellia ( Sluarlia penlagyna ), Rhododendron catawbiense and 
R. pun cl alum, Leucothoe calesbai, Xanthorrhiza apiifolia, Fraser's Southern Fir ( Abies fraseri), 
the Carolina and Gray's Lilies, the exquisite little Shortia, Galax aphylla, Sarraceitia calesbati, 
and dozens of others. 
Why Successful 
No small part of this success is due to the fact that these wild plants have been carefully 
transplanted and made ready for safe planting by the buyer, and the use of cheap “collected 
stock” lately so freely exploited by imitators, discouraged. The best and not the cheapest has been 
my persistent aim, and thousands of the finest estates and public grounds owe their charm and 
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