Avent grew up with a passion for
plants and nature. Instead of playing games, he wandered the woods and fields near his home in Raleigh NC, studying
wildflowers.[1] At age five, Avent was building terrariums and dish gardens with mail-order plants, and at seven years old, his parents built a
greenhouse for him. There he grew and propagated plants and sold them as a hobby.[2]
In 1978, he began working for the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh as its
Landscape Director.[3][4] He worked there for 16 years until 1994. In addition he worked as a volunteer
curator of the Shade Garden at the
J. C. Raulston Arboretum from 1985 to 1994. He also worked as a weekly garden columnist for Raleigh's
News and Observer newspaper from 1987 to 1998. He established
Plant Delights Nursery and
Juniper Level Botanic Gardens in 1988[4] and by 1994 the business had expanded enough for him to resign his state job and become a full-time
nurseryman.
In addition to running the
nursery, Avent is a
plant breeder who is best known for his
Hosta breeding program, but is actively breeding other
genera as well. In addition, Tony Avent travels the world on plant hunting expeditions to search for new, rare, and unusual plants. He is also an avid
plant collector with a large collection of rare
variegatedAgave. He is a prolific writer as well, having authored a book (So You Want to Start a Nursery – 2003, Timber Press) and dozens of newspaper articles, magazine articles, and web articles. Avent was featured in the book, Heroes of Horticulture by Barbara Paul Robinson, 2018; Beautiful Madness by James Dodson, 2006; The Plant Hunter’s Garden by Bobby Ward, Fall 2004, and The Collector’s Garden Book by Ken Druse, 1996. He is currently a contributing editor to Fine Gardening Magazine. In addition, every year travels the country, having given over 800 lectures on gardening topics. He also lectures each year at
Plant Delights Nursery. In 2018, Avent was named a Distinguished Alumni at his alma mater, North Carolina State University.
Avent is married to Raleigh business woman and childhood friend Anita Avent.