Tryon Palace – Carraway Garden - The Sociable Adventurer

For one of the most beautifully designed formal gardens on the Tryon Palace grounds, the Carraway Garden is a real treasure. Set behind the Waystation in downtown New Bern, NC in Craven County, this thoughtfully designed parterre garden combines the elegance of 18th-century British formal landscaping with the careful preservation ethic that has shaped the Tryon Palace complex from the very beginning. Named in honor of Gertrude Carraway, the first director of the Tryon Palace Restoration, the garden is both a visual treat and a tribute to one of the most important figures in North Carolina’s historic preservation movement. Be sure to check out the YouTube video and pictures below to get a feel for the garden before you go — or to relive the visit after.

Named for Gertrude Carraway

The Carraway Garden takes its name from Gertrude Sprague Carraway (1896-1993) — a native of New Bern, distinguished historian and journalist, and one of the most influential figures in 20th-century North Carolina historic preservation. As the first director of the Tryon Palace Restoration, Carraway oversaw the painstaking work of bringing the original John Hawks plans back to life after nearly 150 years of the Palace’s absence, opening the restored complex to visitors in 1959.

Her contributions reached far beyond Tryon Palace. Carraway also served as President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution, was a member of the North Carolina Historical Commission, and authored multiple books on the state’s history. The Carraway Garden is a fitting tribute to her legacy — a peaceful, elegant space at the heart of the very complex she helped bring back to life.

A Colonial Revival Parterre Garden

The Carraway Garden is a beautiful example of the Colonial Revival garden style, inspired by 18th-century British formal gardens and reinterpreted for the American historic preservation movement of the mid-20th century. The garden is built around a classic parterre design — a formal arrangement of geometric beds laid out around clearly defined pathways.

The garden’s borders are anchored by dwarf yaupon hollies, neatly clipped into low hedges that form the architectural skeleton of the parterre. Within those borders, a mix of modern and historic plant varieties fills the geometric beds with seasonal color and texture — a thoughtful blend that keeps the garden both true to its colonial inspiration and visually alive year-round.

The garden’s location behind the Waystation gives it a quietly intimate character — a peaceful contrast to the more sweeping gardens elsewhere on the Palace grounds.

Seasonal Displays Refreshed Three Times a Year

One of the most rewarding aspects of the Carraway Garden is how it changes through the seasons. The Palace gardeners refresh the plantings three times each year, ensuring that the garden offers a different visual experience for spring, summer, and fall visitors. The result is a garden that genuinely rewards repeat visits — and that captures the rhythms of the seasons in a way that feels deeply connected to the broader landscape of eastern North Carolina.

Good to Know

Style: Colonial Revival parterre garden
Inspiration: 18th-century British formal gardens
Borders: Dwarf yaupon hollies clipped into low hedges
Plantings: A mix of modern and historic plant varieties; seasonal displays refreshed three times a year
Named for: Gertrude Sprague Carraway (1896-1993), first director of the Tryon Palace Restoration
Location on the grounds: Behind the Waystation
Best for: Garden enthusiasts, history lovers, and visitors looking for a quiet, contemplative pause on the Tryon Palace grounds
Pair with: Our magnificent gardens guide and the list of gardens for a fuller look at the broader Tryon Palace garden complex
Located on the Tryon Palace grounds in downtown New Bern, NC

A Tryon Palace Highlight

The Carraway Garden is the kind of stop that genuinely rewards visitors who appreciate the layered stories behind a well-designed historic landscape. The Colonial Revival parterre design, the elegant dwarf yaupon hedges, the seasonal plantings refreshed three times a year, and the meaningful tribute to Gertrude Carraway’s contributions to North Carolina’s preservation movement all add up to one of the most quietly beautiful gardens you can visit on the Tryon Palace grounds. Whether you’re a serious garden enthusiast or just looking for a peaceful moment between Palace tours, this is one of the most rewarding stops you can make in Craven County.