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Chris Weavil loves his job, and it?EUR??,,????'???s easy to see why. Every morning he goes to Tanglewood Park in North Carolina and is surrounded by beauty that he helps to create and maintain.
Weavil is the Maintenance Supervisor for Tanglewood, a historic 1300-acre facility located in Clemmons, N.C. the land that the park now sits on was once claimed by Sir Walter Raleigh for Queen Elizabeth in 1584.
In 1757, William Johnson an immigrant from Wales, purchased the mile square central portion of the present propert from a family who had leased the land for a brief period for, ?EUR??,,????'??five shillings lawful money of Great Britain in hand a yearly rent of one peppercorn payment at the Feast of Saint Michael, the archangel.?EUR??,,????'??
It wasn?EUR??,,????'???t until 1859 that James Johnson, a relative of William, built the 18-room manor house that is now the main feature of the park. Johnson eventually gave the house to his daughter Emily as a wedding present and later added two additional wings.
In 1921, the property was sold by the Johnson heirs to William Neal Reynolds, brother of tobacco giant, R.J. Reynolds. William expanded the property to 1100 acres and built up the manor house, bringing it to a total of 28 rooms.
Reynolds had a passion for raising and racing thoroughbred harness horses and soon Tanglewood became established as a home for some of the finest pacers in the United States. To this day, Reynolds?EUR??,,????'??? love for horses is carried on at the park. In addition to the boarding facilities, visitors to the park can go on hay rides, guided trail rides, or take a ride in a horse-drawn carriage. Steeple chases were held at Tanglewood for 30 years, until 2000.
The property was willed in 1951 to Forsyth County to share as a public recreational park. Reynolds and his wife Kate willed the property as a gesture to have others share the beauty,, history and recreation of their estate.
Maintaining 1300 acres isn?EUR??,,????'???t a one-man job. Weavil and a crew of 24 members (16 full-time and 8 part-time) work 365 days-a-year to keep the facilities in pristine condition.
Out of the 1,000 acres of park, approximately 683 acres are comprised of undisturbed wooded areas.
?EUR??,,????'??I have worked here for 15 years and there are still pieces of the grounds that I haven?EUR??,,????'???t set foot on,?EUR??,,????'?? said Weavil.
Ninety five percent of the trees in the wooded areas are eastern deciduous and include oak, maple, ash, elm, hickory, and yellow poplar. Three certified arborists are on staff at Tanglewood (including Weavil) to look after the trees and help keep them healthy.
For every square mile of Tanglewood?EUR??,,????'???s grounds, Weavil estimates that there are 100-125 deer. The deer, although majestic and nice to look at, create quite a headache for the grounds crew due to their love of nibbling on just about every plant they can sink their teeth into. The maintenance budget had to be increased specifically for deer repellant.
Raccoons, skunks, possums, and Canadian geese are also a problem at Tanglewood. About 80 geese have taken such a liking to the park and its five lakes and two ponds, they have decided to stick around permanently. Each goose produces about 14lbs of droppings every week (80×14 = 1120 = a big mess). To help combat the birds and help deter them from leaving their droppings on the grass, the crew lets the grass grow up on the sides of the banks of the lakes. Because the geese in the water cannot see any potential predators who may be hiding in the grass, they are wary of going ashore. However, birds being birds, they will eventually fly out of the water and after seeing that they are not in any danger, will land on the shore and go about their business.
All of the chemicals used around the grounds are stored in an OSHA-approved, fire-proof building. The crew does not use large-quantities of pesticides, but the chemicals that are onsite are listed on a material data safety sheet (MSDS).
Weavil and the crew use broadleaf herbicides such as Round-Up to combat the Bermuda grass, clover, dandelions, and wild garlic that likes to spring up in the tall fescue turf. About 21/2 to 3 tons of seed and 5 tones of fertilizer is used to maintain the lawns each year.
Fertilizing takes place primarily during the fall. The preferred fertilizers used by the crew are slow-release Nu Grow, ag grade fertilizer such as IMC Rainbow, and soluble fertilizers for the flower beds. Five of the crew members are certified pesticide applicators for the state of North Carolina.
William Reynolds?EUR??,,????'??? wife Kate was a horticultural enthusiast. She was the one responsible for starting the extensive collection of native and ornamental plantings on the grounds. Kate couldn?EUR??,,????'???t care for the collection on her own though. She hired a German man named Frank Lustig to help her maintain the gardens of Tanglewood.
Frank worked for 60 years maintaining and adding new gardens to the property. He contributed the arboretum, the 800-bush rose garden, and the fragrance garden to the estate. Frank is buried in the graveyard at Tanglewood next to the historic Mount Pleasant Church.
Master gardeners train at the arboretum to become certified and also help to maintain it. The staff is currently updating their programs to include the North Carolina Landscape Contractor Registration Board Exam.
Instead of three planting seasons, the crew does two. In the fall they usually plant pansies and in the spring/summer, they plant vinca, begonia, marigolds, Mexican heather and wave petunias – which Weavil warns, can quickly get out of hand if they are not monitored.
There are 10,000 sq. ft. of annual beds on the property – which translates into a lot of work. Luckily, the crew odes not have to prepare the beds for winter.
However, in the spring they fumigate the beds with Basamid, cover them, and then let them sit for about a week depending on soil temperature. After this month-long process is complete, the planting begins.
During the winter, approximately 40,000 – 50,000 cubic feet of water is used throughout the park – an amount that doubles during the summer months.
A Hunter system irrigates the clay tennis courts twice a day while a system by Toro keeps the plantings and turf around the aquatic center in good condition. Finally, at the main entrance to the park, an irrigation system by Rainbird delivers water to the plants and trees.
Health and safety procedures are strictly followed at Tanglewood. Every week, the crew gathers for ?EUR??,,????'??tailgate?EUR??,,????'?? safety meetings to go over any safety issues that may arise. More in-depth safety meetings are held once a month to go over training topics which include the following issues:
Weavil holds a degree in horticulture and has taken countless continuing education courses. He is a certified arborist, certified grounds manager – 92nd in the country, registered North Carolina Landscape Contractor, certified North Carolina Plantsmen, certified pool and spa operator, and a licensed pesticide applicator. He is also the incoming president of the North Carolina chapter of the Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS).
In his 15 years on the job at Tanglewood, Weavil says that what he has learned over the years to help him be more efficient is patience. Patience in dealing with personnel issues, budget issues, planning, creating schedules and learning to use an implement new technology.
?EUR??,,????'??We do a lot with GIS mapping and planning for our inventory of trees, maintenance locations, and turf square footage,?EUR??,,????'?? said Weavil.
Planning the events held at Tanglewood is a big job. Concerts are held throughout the summer as are a wide variety of other functions. However, it is safe to say that the annual ?EUR??,,????'??Festival of Lights?EUR??,,????'?? held during the holiday season, is the parks?EUR??,,????'??? most popular event of the year.
Seventy-to light displays, with a total of 1 million light bulbs, are erected throughout the park, attracting 30,000 – 40,000 visitors.
?EUR??,,????'??I love my job,?EUR??,,????'?? said Weavil. ?EUR??,,????'??It?EUR??,,????'???s like being a child ?EUR??,,????'??? you get to play with all of the equipment, be outside, or inside when I want to be. I am in a dynamic situation.?EUR??,,????'??
Francisco Uviña, University of New Mexico
Hardscape Oasis in Litchfield Park
Ash Nochian, Ph.D. Landscape Architect
November 12th, 2025
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