Children are very welcome in our West Asheville gardens!  As a matter of fact, one of our goals is to inspire and enable parents and kids to get involved in gardening, both in community endeavors and at home.

We ask that children be supervised in the gardens, for their own safety and with respect to the home owners.  Please be especially aware of your children around ponds, garden art made of hard materials, walls and slopes.

For the day of the stroll, the following locations are providing restrooms:

• Westend Bakery – 757 Haywood Rd.
• Malvern Hills Park – 75 Rumbough Pl.
• West Asheville Public Library – 942 Haywood Rd.

Please leave your pooch at home.  With respect to the garden owners, their own pets, as well as the visitors on the tour, everyone will be much more comfortable.  Stop at the Westend Bakery to pick up some organic dog treats though and you won’t be coming home empty handed!

We’re happy and proud to be in West Asheville and it’s wonderful to see so many beautiful gardens!  This is our first garden tour and we’re looking forward to future ones.  We will post more information on this topic soon.  Please be in touch with Carol Ali.

We recommend that you use the centralized parking that will be available near the featured neighborhoods at:   West Asheville Baptist Church on Haywood Road, St. George’s Episcopal Church on School Rd., and at Malvern Hills Park.

Each cluster of gardens makes for a relatively easy stroll through the neighborhoods. Walking offers more opportunity to explore West Asheville and to see walk by sites that are not featured gardens on the tour. Bicycle riding is also highly encouraged.

The West Asheville Garden Stroll is a rare chance to intimately experience the great outdoors of our urban environment that so often goes unnoticed.

Most importantly, wear appropriate shoes.  While all our gardens are in the city, some have slopes, pathway surfaces vary and  others have water features which may cause the surrounding walkways to be slippery.

Watch the weather for the day of the stroll. Local folks know this, but if you’re coming here from out of town for the stroll, be sure to have an extra layer of clothes  for easy adjustments to temperature changes.

Sunscreen is always a good idea and be sure to carry water or pack a small beverage cooler in your car.

Here in Asheville, it’s pretty much impossible to predict the weather.  Often times, we get everything in the course of a single day.  If it rains on the day of the stroll, we’re having it anyways!  Bring an umbrella or raincoat and enjoy the lush gardens.  More than likely, the rain will give way to sun anyways.