Matt Garfield - mgarfield@newsobserver.com
This home in Raleigh will become a public garden and environmental center thanks to a donation from the Joslin family, which has lived there for more than a half-century.
RALEIGH -- A home known for its collection of camellias, exotic plants and native woodlands will become a public garden and environmental center - fulfilling the vision of a family that has lived there since 1951.
For decades, William and Mary Coker Joslin have opened their garden for public tours a few times each year. A new arrangement lets the home become "a permanent place of serenity and beauty," 87-year-old Mary Coker Joslin told guests Monday.
The couple will donate the four-acre property on West Lake Drive, off White Oak Road inside the Beltline. Mayor Charles Meeker joined Joslin family members to announce the gift, calling it a valuable addition to Raleigh's park system.
The Joslins asked for two things: The city must provide free admission to the public, and it must preserve the native plants and woodlands.
With its plant life, hilly terrain and natural stream, the grounds have served as a botanical laboratory for students from N.C. State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
"You think about having to drive out into the country" to experience such a setting, Meeker said. "Here we are, right in the heart of the city. It couldn't be a more beautiful place."
Shortly before William Joslin died in January, the couple arranged the donation and established the City of Oaks Foundation to support the garden.
Mary Coker Joslin will continue living in the home. Upon her death, the foundation will take ownership and allow the city's parks and recreation department to handle management and activities.
Even before the Joslins cultivated a native plant sanctuary, the wooded acreage had a rich history. In the early 1900s, the land was part of a farm owned by J. Bryan Grimes, a former N.C. secretary of state. The farm's terraces remain visible in the Joslins' arboretum.
The land was nicknamed "Arrowhead Farm" because of the number of arrowheads found on the property. When the Joslins arrived in the 1950s, they preserved many natural features while adding unusual trees and groupings of native and exotic plants.
William Joslin, an attorney, was a key figure in North Carolina's environmental movement. He also was active in Democratic politics, serving as chairman of the state board of elections under Gov. Terry Sanford.
Mary Joslin taught French at Ravenscroft and St. Augustine's College. Her interest in botany came from her father, David Coker, an agricultural reformer, and her uncle, William Chambers Coker, a botanist and co-founder of Coker College in Hartsville, S.C.
The Joslins led the restoration of the Coker Arboretum at UNC-Chapel Hill. In Raleigh, they rallied neighbors to create Charlotte Hilton Green Park by acquiring land on White Oak Road before it could be subdivided into lots.
The couple was inducted last month into the Raleigh Hall of Fame.
