Plantsman Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh, N.C., has created a beautiful botanical display garden filled with rare plants and animals.

The early morning photo shoot, part of the Garden Writers Association Symposium, was the perfect way to start the day. Buses began arriving at the Plant Delights Nursery around 7:30 and we were treated to a lovely breakfast before we hit the trails.

Plant Delights Nursery is more than a place to purchase plants. It’s a five-acre display garden with more than 17,000 different plant specimens. It would be impossible to see them all, especially since the garden is always changing.

The gardens began simply on a flat suburban site, but it has grown to become a showcase for rare and unusual ornamental plants.

Of course I was drawn to the plants in the Southwest Garden that featured delicate cacti planted with large agave, but I was equally taken with the Alpine Garden and Woodland Garden, too.