“The Plants & the Planted.” That’s the cheeky yet affectionate name of the historical walking tours provided in spring and fall by volunteer members of Friends of Green Hill Cemetery.
Located just north of the downtown business district, Green Hill is Greensboro’s oldest public cemetery (est. 1877) and the final resting place of many of the city’s most prominent citizens, including UNCG’s founding president Charles Duncan McIver and his successor, Julius Isaac Foust.
What many may not know is that in addition to interesting gravesites and monuments, its 51 acres are home to more
than 900 diverse and unusual trees and shrubs, such as American Yellowwood, Chinaberry Tree, Devilwood, and
Arizona Cypress.
This horticultural treasure trove can largely be attributed to the late Bill Craft, whose family has many ties to UNCG, for his decades of private donations, plantings, and care of the cemetery’s trees and shrubs that transformed Green Hill into a botanical destination.
UNCG alumna and Green Hill Cemetery volunteer Ann Stringfield ’75 encourages lunchtime strollers, genealogists,
bench sitters, plein air artists, plant enthusiasts, and picnickers to visit this local gem. “What a wonderful place
for respite in this busy world,” she says.
The botanical fall tour of Green Hill Cemetery will be Saturday, Oct. 22, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. $5/person. Only 10 persons are allowed on this tour; registration email/info is here. More details on tours, including upcoming historical tours, are here.
To learn more about Green Hill, visit here.
By Chris Garton
Top photo by David Row, of Bethany Heybrook ’17 enjoying a stroll with her dog, Leon
