Reynolda Breaks Ground on Extensive Landscape Restoration Project
Winston-Salem, N.C. (July 29, 2026) – Reynolda House Museum of American Art recently broke ground on a landscape restoration project in accordance with plans developed by renowned landscape architect Chip Callaway of Callaway & Associates. The project reinvigorates the garden beds surrounding the historic home, with an estimated completion date of Spring 2027.
“For the last 60 years, visitors to Reynolda have come to know our formal gardens as the meticulously maintained four acres located to the west of the historic house, anchored by the Brown Family Conservatory,” said Allison Perkins, Wake Forest University Associate Provost for Reynolda House and Reynolda Gardens. “Now, thanks to the research of Chip Callaway and Reynolda Gardens Director Jon Roethling, the footprint of Reynolda’s formal gardens will more closely align with Katharine Smith Reynolds’s vision for this estate—for her home to be surrounded by beautiful gardens on all four sides.”
Developed in 2022, the landscape plan reflects years of study into the evolution of Reynolda’s historic grounds and is rooted in the original designs by architect Charles Barton Keen and landscape architect Thomas Warren Sears of Philadelphia. Callaway reintroduces shapes and materials as originally intended, including narrow, columnar cedars, camellia sasanquas formed into ball-shaped topiaries, and nearly 300 compact, round boxwoods of a variety that are highly resistant to blight.
Callaway, whose career has included the design and restoration of hundreds of gardens across the east coast, approaches projects like Reynolda with an emphasis on observation and restraint.
“A garden is never finished,” says Callaway. “It is something that evolves over time, shaped as much by care and attention as by design.”
Four years after conception, the restoration is now made possible thanks to a generous gift from community advocate and garden enthusiast, Deborah “Debbie” Ferguson. Ferguson approached Allison Perkins in 2025 expressing her deep interest in historic Reynolda.
“The alignment between Debbie’s love of horticulture and Reynolda’s interest in restoring the gardens that surround the historic bungalow seemed almost prescient,” said Perkins. “When I told Debbie about the Chip Calloway plans, she enthusiastically shared that Chip designed two of her own personal gardens.”
Ferguson made a commitment to fully fund the plantings and the irrigation, as well as the creation of a permanent horticulturist position dedicated to the Museum’s restored gardens.
“The entire Reynolda property is one of the most important anchoring cultural resources of Winston-Salem,” said Ferguson.
Planned improvements will soften and rebalance the front approach to the bungalow, expand layered plantings, and restore visual and physical connections to the surrounding landscape, including views toward Lake Katharine. Pathways and sightlines that have diminished over time will also be reestablished.
The project underscores Reynolda’s broader commitment to stewardship. Along with the ongoing HVAC work, these restorations ensure that Reynolda’s landscape, like its collections, is preserved and cared for in perpetuity.
“This investment allows us to think not only about restoration, but about what it means to sustain these gardens over time,” Perkins added. “It ensures that future generations will experience Reynolda as a place where art, architecture, and landscape are fully connected.”
Visitors to Reynolda during this restoration process should expect work crews to be present and at times, temporary closures along impacted pathways.
About Reynolda
Affiliated with Wake Forest University, Reynolda is set on 170 acres in Winston-Salem, N.C. and comprises Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Reynolda Gardens and Reynolda Village Shops and Restaurants. The Museum presents a renowned art collection in a historic and incomparable setting: the original 1917 interiors of Katharine and R.J. Reynolds’s 34,000-square-foot home. Its collection is a chronology of American art and featured exhibitions are offered in the Museum’s Babcock Wing Gallery and historic house bedrooms. The Gardens serve as a 134-acre outdoor horticultural oasis open to the public year-round, complete with colorful formal gardens, nature trails and a conservatory. In the Village, the estate’s historic buildings are now home to a vibrant mix of boutiques, restaurants, shops and services. Plan your visit at reynolda.org.
Hours and Admission
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, located at 2250 Reynolda Rd., and the Reynolda Welcome Center and the Brown Family Conservatory, located at 100 Reynolda Village Way, are open to visitors Tuesday–Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Admission is charged for the Museum, though several free admission categories apply. Reynolda Gardens is open from dawn to dusk daily, free of charge. Reynolda Village merchants’ hours vary. No ticket is needed to shop at the Reynolda House Museum Store.
Header Image: Callaway and Associates Landscape Plan for Reynolda House Museum of American Art; renderings created by Preston Montague.
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