mt. cuba center

One afternoon was not enough to visit Mt. Cuba Center. There is so much to see and the grounds are beautiful. There are several ponds and it was zen-like to sit and listen to the water and birds. What a lovely place.

Mt. Cuba Center has excellent naturalized gardens. That is its main attraction. There is a mansion building as well that can be visited. They open the gardens once a year for an open house in the Spring and that is free. Otherwise, you can visit through October for a fee. The Center also offers educational programs and courses throughout the year. It is somewhat difficult to find for people not familiar with the area.

docents were great. Newly opened garden that it is kept well. Wonderful walking around for a delightful day.

Mt. Cuba is worth a visit, being a naturalist garden focused on the display and propagation of native plants of the Piedmont region. It is very distinct in style from Longwood, Winterthur and Nemours which are more formal and landscaped. This is a lovely peaceful spot, although a bit difficult to find. There is some limited signage, make sure you keep your eye out for it and make some educated guesses on direction (I didn't find GPS to be much help). I believe the Center is not permitted to install any more than signage on the roads than exists currently; something to do with visitor numbers I think, putting them in a bit of a Catch 22 if people don't visit because they can't find the Center!Make sure you plan your visit in advance. The gardens are open to the public on Friday and Saturday only, or you can join a 2 hour tour on Thursdays. I went with this latter option. The tour was hosted by a very knowledgeable zoologist who had worked over twenty years in the area. The participants broadly divided into two categories - those from across the US with a serious interest in gardening and particularly native plants, and nature photographers. I fell into the latter category so spent quite a bit of time lagging behind the main group to get a good shot. There was no issue around this, and what I heard of the tour commentary seemed very good.Aside from bathroom facilities in the visitor center, there are no real facilities onsite so make sure you come prepared and pay a visit to the facilities before venturing into the gardens. The center hosts a range of educational activities, including some diplomas.

You have no idea how long it is going to take, and you come to the entrance stated on the website, and the person directs you to take two left hand turns. The first one, blocked by a police officer that waves you down the next one. The next one has a sign says wildflower celebration, and then you go down the road, and see a parking lot across stream with no obvious entrance across the stream going left or right of the parking lot. Just some dead end roads, and if you go down another three miles, nothing shows up until you are at a road with no signs. If you want visitors, have maps at the main entrance of how to get to the parking lot. If you want visitors, give the police officer at the first left entrance a map so that he knows where to direct people. If you want visitors, make sure the "wildflower celebration" signs in the area say "Mount Cuba", and that each turn that you need to take has a sign that says straight or turn here a certain direction. We were low on gas, and no one was there to direct us. Place the parking within a mile of Mount Cuba. Or open it for visitors, or put more signs, or make a map. But don't leave people hanging. We ended up going to Longwood. Thank you.

I have been a lover of native plants for years and to visit this place in the height of wildflower season was an exquisite delight. It is beautifully landscaped and peaceful. The staff are really helpful and had the answers to all of our many questions and the plants are well labeled. As another reviewer said, "Take your picnic lunch" There are picnic tables and benches scattered around in nooks and scenic crannies. If you do forget, you can have a meal not too far away and you don't have to pay to get back in. Leave a full day for this if you can; you'll leave feeling refreshed and happy.

The former estate is now an educational venue for native plants. An enjoyable place with knowledgable friendly staff. They have some great classes if you are interested in learning more about plants and the diversity you need for a sustainable landscape. I recently took a class on seed saving and the class was very informative. Its a great place to bring the family to enjoy the landscape and vegetation as well as exploring and learning through their varieties of offered classes.

This outstanding "Garden" now has self guided tours available, only on Friday & Saturday but well worth making sure you get there! Devoted to Native Pants and plantings it is a wonderful stop while in the area for the many other gardens and estates. The staff is VERY knowledgeable and helpful, admission is very budget friendly and the grounds well kept and plants identified to add to your enjoyment. Highly recommended

I'd have brought a camera.I'd have brought lunch for a picnic.I'd have brought mosquito repellant.I'd have planned more time to explore.Mt. Cuba is educational, friendly, easy to navigate and a beautiful retreat!

A great place to learn more about native plant species. The docents are eager to engage in conversation, knowledgeable and helpful w/out being pushy. There are a variety of habitats and gardens, and the paths are well maintained. It is also just a beautiful place to take a walk!

I live literally 5 minutes from here and am sad I haven't discovered it sooner! Granted they have only recently started public visits but I am sure I've seen other special events they've had. It's a $6 entrance fee and kids under 5 are free. You can do a self guided tour with the maps and materials provided or choose a docent guided tour at 11, 1 or 3pm. We did the self guided and even then, we found employees at stations along the way who were so knowledgeable and helpful. This is a must see! I can't wait to take out of town guests

Horticultural research center donated by a DuPont family member. Well laid out. Very relaxing. The staff really know their stuff.