J. C. Raulston (1940-96) arrived in Raleigh in 1975 to teach at North Carolina State University and to start an arboretum to serve as a living laboratory for students and faculty, as well as a resource for green industry professionals and the public. In 1976, with a master plan created by his graduate student Fielding Scarborough, Raulston made the first plantings in what would become the NCSU Arboretum, now renamed the J. C. Raulston Arboretum.

This catalog was published on the occasion of the exhibition Plan-and Plant for a Better World: J. C. Raulston and The North Carolina State University Arboretum, which was on display at the D. H. Hill Library Exhibit Gallery from March 2016 through January 2017. The exhibition and catalog celebrate Raulston's life and work, from his childhood in Oklahoma and his time in the military to his more than two decades of service to NCSU as an educator, horticulturist, and arboretum director. The exhibit draws upon the rich archive of Raulston's papers, images, and ephemera in the Special Collections Research Center at the NCSU Libraries.