The Gardens Of 2010
We have a wonderful group of gardens selected for you this year!
The Gardens Of 2010
2010-01 – WEST ASHEVILLE LIBRARY – 924 Haywood Road
Landscaping at the West Asheville library includes a mix of deciduous trees along the street and an eye-pleasing combination of shrubs and perennials around the building. Plantings include rhododendron, azalea, rose of Sharon, St. John’s wort, pansies, viola, ferns, lemon balm, salvia, coneflower, soapwort, gooseneck loosestrife, and many others. Plantings are maintained by volunteer gardener Tom Jordan with support from Asheville GreenWorks.
2010-02 – FALCONHURST COMMUNITY GARDEN
For three years, 15 families have been working cooperatively on a plot of about 1/4 acre, and they’re growing! This year, they added 10,000 square feet, a gazebo, a bean teepee, stone stairs, and a rainwater irrigation system. They’re growing potatoes, pumpkins, cutting flowers, basil, greens, tomatoes, melons, sweet potatoes, beets, asparagus, beans and more. For the first time this Fall, they’ll harvest honey from their two beehives. “We have monthly potlucks to which neighbors and friends are invited, and an annual harvest party in early October. We are accepting new cooperative members for our fall season.” Contact Jennifer@jmurphyart.com for more info.
2010-03 – WINGING IT
After almost three years in the ongoing process of developing a garden, Katie Doan and Brian Abercrombie are beginning to get a sense of where their garden is going. Holding their intention to grow native plants and provide habitat for birds and pollinators, they have been removing the lawn (smothered with cardboard and mulch) and defining beds with a variety of found materials. Focus plants include an heirloom apple, walnut trees, berry-producing shrubs, as well as perennials and evergreens. Katie adds, “In addition to the visual delight of the wildlife, there is also a growing collection of ‘eye candy’ for humans, garden objects that amuse and delight, like the crazy paving walkway. We enjoy gardening and the rewards of feasting on some of the fruits of our labor.”
2010-04 – THE BAIRD’S GARDEN
In four short years, but spending a lot of time in their garden, Richard and Wanda Baird have planted hundreds of bulbs, many diverse perennials, daylilies, and many varieties of the hostas. In their backyard, they enjoy a large koi pond with a hundred koi and a variety of water plants to keep them company. Early spring, when bulbs begin to sprout, brings the greatest joy to the Bairds. “Almost weekly, the colors change as the different plants come into bloom causing many compliments from passers-by. ‘Oh, I know where the Baird’s live, on Sulphur Springs…where all the beautiful flowers are!’”
2010-05 – VAL’S JOY
In 2009 Val and David Kula began to transform what had been an overgrown rental into their West Asheville home. Redoing the entire house and adding an addition was followed by bulldozing weedy lawns to make a clean slate (and to tame overgrown bamboo) so Val could make the garden of her dreams. She poured over pictures, gathered memories of trees and shrubs she loved, and began to sketch out a vision. With help from B.B. Barnes’ Hunter Stubbs, this vision has unfolded. A longtime friend, Linda, an avid and creative gardener, also jumped in to help with perennials. Now say the Kulas,“We especially love stepping out and cutting various herbs for our meals and have so enjoyed eating dinners on the screened porch overlooking our beautiful and peaceful oasis.”
2010-06 – THE BLAU GARDEN
A few years back Amy & Eric Blau tilled up their entire front yard and planted a row of crape myrtles, Korean spice viburnum and American beauty bush. Now their garden includes native spring ephemerals such as jack-in-the-pulpit, trillium and Solomon’s seal. For summer color, they have planted a wide variety of daylilies and other lilies which are Amy’s favorites. Amy has also cultivated a few self-pollinating fruit trees, including cherry and peach, and built two raised beds for strawberries and blueberries. “I also plant castor beans every year which came from my granddad’s seed stock over 30 years ago.” Also, check out the tree house in the back yard built with a girlfriend for their kids, using wood recycled from an old deck.
2010-07 – JUDITH’S GARDEN
Judith Beers’ backyard receives a lot of sun and it was perfect for an edible (and organic) garden. Removing the lawn, she installed raised beds which she filled with an eclectic mix of plants in her attempt to be more self-sufficient. She dug beds for herbs and bulbs, and over the years added fruit trees, berries, asparagus, perennial flowers, as well as annually planted vegetable and flower starts. Judith says her garden responds to her intention to “have beauty around me, experiment, and feed my soul.” She adds, “ Come visit!”
2010-08 – GOOD EARTH ORGANICS GARDEN
This garden was started end of May, 2010, as a demonstration project to show part of the process of converting lawn to gardens. Specifically, Jim Smith used sheet-mulching (aka lasagna gardening), where layering of cardboard, newspaper and straw and/or alfalfa hay initiates a process of transformation. Visitors can see the difference this system made in just three months in before and after areas. In connection with this, Jim plans to discuss the ideas behind a soil biological process called the “soil food web” with anyone interested. He tells us, “I will also show how to integrate composting into a garden, give advice on the use of organic amendments, and offer ideas for inter-planting.” Note: Compost bins will also be for sale at this site.
2010-09 – FREEBORN’S FARM
In Bryan Freeborn and Bridgett O’Hara’s garden, kids pick and eat beans, berries, tomatoes and mint leaves and even catch bugs to feed their toads. It all began in 2004 by ripping up the grass and planting sunflowers in the front yard which attracted tiny yellow gold finches and squirrels to feast. On the South side of the yard, small raised beds grow greens, veggies, and strawberries. Abundant hops, raspberries and wine berries line the sunny fence row. On the North side, native paw-paw trees and an elderberry flourish. “Our garden is not the Martha Stewart, fancy garden from a magazine. We enjoy growing it and playing in it. During the Stroll, enjoy a kid-run lemonade-with-a-twist stand and free paw-paw seeds while they last.”
2010-10 – C and W GARDEN
According to Claire Fontana and Wylie Paxton, “Our garden is a transitional space from non-native perennial shrubs and herbs to typical natives and their respective habitats co-occurring on the property.” Sited on the North side of the Salola Street/Carrier Street ridge, the Paxtons grow many fruits: raspberries, paw-paw, persimmon, plum, quince, and muscadine grapes. For vegetables, they have developed raised beds, a cold frame site, and a kitchen garden. North slope natives are also well represented with black cohosh, white wood aster, green headed coneflower, Turks cap lily, cardinal flower, bleeding heart, and many Spring ephemerals. The space that used to be lawn now grows prairie plants such as big bluestem, little bluestem, false indigo, bee-balm, several coreopsis species, Stokes aster, swamp milkweed and purple coneflower.
2010-11 – RUMBOUGH PLACE VEGETABLE AND RESCUE GARDEN
At Jimmy Burns and Johanna Finkelstein Vegetable and Rescue Garden, ornamentals are slowly changing away from a mix of plants salvaged from the mark down racks and dumpsters of what they call “cruel big box retailers.” (Jimmy muses, “Did we really need 720 pansies last year?”) Different beds demonstrate their varying degrees of success with no-till, low-till and cover crop garden methods. Vegetable beds contain root crops for late harvest/storage and the last of the summer veggies mixed with the fall planting of greens. Elsewhere, beds are being prepared for next year’s fruit and berry plants. (Jimmy added, “Fellow gardeners, share your fruit and berry stories and help us decide what to plant.”) Note: Rescued plants ranging from herbs to azaleas are available for very modest adoption fees. “No background check required.”
2010-12 – BUTTERMILK CREEK RESTORATION IN MALVERN HILLS PARK – Rumbough Place
In 2008, RiverLink teamed with Baker Engineering to develop and implement a stream restoration and stormwater mitigation project. Covering approximately 1100 linear feet of stream restoration and employing stormwater best management practices, the project reduces sedimentation and improves water quality in Buttermilk Creek and the larger system of Hominy Creek and the French Broad River which it feeds. The project also provides connection to Hominy Creek Greenway and the Wilma Dykeman RiverWay. Neighborhood volunteers helped with the plantings, removing invasive plant species and setting in live stakes. Look for soft rush,big bluestem, nine bark, and silky dogwood. The Clean Water Management Trust Fund provided grant funding for this project along with additional matching funds.
2010-13 – THE BEAR CREEK GARDEN
Norbert Artzt and John Denton’s Bear Creek Garden is a 1/3 acre, plant sanctuary that surrounds a modest 1946 red brick cottage. Begun in 1996, it contains a rich collection of both sun- and shade-loving native plants as well as conifers, woody evergreens, flowering shrubs, perennials and vines, camellias, ferns, and lilies. Over 300 different species fill the densely textured, mixed beds. Both formally shaped and naturalized elements combine to produce stasis and movement and a good measure of beauty in all seasons. Norbert notes, “The overall design, though essentially simple, draws the garden visitor along widening and narrowing pathways from one area to another. Dominating the woodland landscape is a magnificent, centuries-old white oak tree, one of the finest in the city.” Note: The sidewalk is on the other side of the street; please be careful when crossing the street.
2010-14 – MODERN SIMPLICITY
After three years renovating their home, Joy & Hans Enderle turned their attention to the gardens. In 2007, they added a retaining wall and fill dirt to create a level patio on the steep slope of the back yard. Then, what was intended to be a raised flower bed became an L-shaped koi pond with a basalt obelisk fountain. To manage runoff, Joy and Hans decided to create a dry creek bed swale with boulders and river stone on the southern edge of the property. Plantings reflect Joy’s love of Japanese gardens: conifers and Japanese Maples, bamboo in a planter and as a screen beside the pond, as well as azaleas and rhododendrons. “My garden is still a work in progress,” Joy says, “and becomes more beautiful each year.”
2010-15 – GLENN’S GARDENS
This garden displays a broad selection of herbaceous perennials, shrubs, and bulbs, some native to WNC, some to other states and foreign lands. Among the many different garden areas Glenn has established, there’s a dahlia bed, a desert garden, a tropical area, a conifer berm, a shade room, and a bed for fragrance, with many of these areas defined by newly built dry stack walls. “Gardening at my home for 13 years, I enjoy collecting varieties of salvias, poppies, ornamental grasses, bulbs, and elephant ears.” And for people wanting a new, enlarged or renovated garden space, Glenn’s landscape business (called Glenn’s Gardens) provides custom design, installation, and maintenance. Call 828-337-4632.
2010-16 – THE WALLER TRACT
The Waller Tract is 11 acres of land that moves West Asheville closer to completing the Wilma Dykeman RiverWay Plan, a long-term plan by RiverLink to redevelop the urban riverfront corridor. Bordering Hominy Creek, this tract will become part of the Hominy Creek Greenway which will link to Rhododendron Creek and Buttermilk Creek, extending safe pedestrian routes from West Asheville to the French Broad River, the River Arts District, and ultimately downtown. The entirety of this tract will be placed into a conservation easement with permitted recreational uses, a move that will protect Hominy Creek from misguided development and further degradation. The planning by RiverLink and the City of Asheville is now in the beginning stages. Please email Nancy Hodges: Nancy@riverlink.org for more information.
2010-17 – SERENDIPITY GARDEN
Brotherhug and Janet Barlow moved to their home along Buttermilk Creek in July 2006 and began transforming the grassed yard into a paradise garden designed to provide beauty and high quality foods for people as well as wildlife for many years. The garden was started by sheet-mulching the front yard to prepare for spring plantings and laying out paths and beds using permaculture techniques. Over time, additional garden areas have been added, including a 600 square foot vegetable and flower garden (fenced to avoid sharing ALL the bounty with wildlife), a shady perennial area, and a recently added water garden, with more planned. “It has been a slow process with all work being done by hand, but is generating great yields of wholesome food, herbs and flowers,” says Brotherhug.
The Gardens Of 2009
2009-01: West Asheville Library – 924 Haywood Rd
Thanks to gardener Extraordinaire Tom Jordan and Asheville GreenWorks, landscaping at the West Asheville Branch Library includes a mix of deciduous trees along the street and eye-pleasing combinations of shrubs and perennials around the building. Plantings include rhododendrons and azaleas, rose of Sharon and St. John’s wort, pansies, violas, ferns, lemon balm, salvia, cone flower, soapwort, gooseneck loosestrife, and others.
Click map image for larger version
The Garden Stroll stretches across the greater West Asheville area.
All neighborhoods are easily accessible from Haywood Road.
A detailed map will be available on the day of the stroll at the
WEST ASHEVILLE LIBARY
Signs along Haywood Road will guide you to the individual gardens.
We look forward to your visit!
The LaZoom Tour Bus will run between the
West Asheville Garden clusters!
Thanks to our LaZoom bus sponsors:
West End Bakery
City Real Estate
Wholesale Glass and Mirror
Universal Joint
Area 1: Vermont/Sulphur Springs
2009-04: Cherry Tree Gardens
Our compound and garden came to be because we cut down the dead cherry tree, which brought down the fence, and because the warehouse for Cherry Tree Beads is on site.
Purpose of our gardens: to become more self sufficient, teach our children how to live in harmony with the earth, create a beautiful environment, our enjoyment, food, herbs, and because we love playing in the dirt!
Area 2: Falconhurst
2009-02: Bevin and Jacob McGahey’s place
This wonderful first year garden, attached to a newly constructed solar home is a must see. With raised beds, pebble pathways, and blooming flowers, all in a private fenced in yard. Enjoy live music and tastes from the garden.
2009-03: Falconhurst Community Garden
The FCG is an 18 family, 2500 square foot cooperatively run community garden in the Falconhurst area of West Asheville. 2009 is our second year. There are 2 tiers of membership: the weekly members work one day a week in the garden, the monthly members come to the monthly community workday. We share the harvest equitably.
2009-05: Urban Paradise!
Not being city folk, it was important for us to surround ourselves with natural beauty. This house had been condemned 5 years ago and the innards of the house got re-done but the outside needed lots of love.
Year one was all hardscape to replace the weeds, debris and overgrown trees. The backbone to the garden had to happen before the planting began. Because of the small space we were very selective with our plant choices.
Area 3: Brucemont/Louisiana
2009-07: Liberated
We don’t have a name except ‘yard’, but if I gave it one, I would call it “Liberated’ because it used to be all surrounded by chain link fenc e and nasty sheds. We have worked for approx. 20 months on the garden, the photos show the before and after transformation. Our long term goal is privacy provided by plants because the house is on a corner lot. Two main features are a rock patio where red dirt used to be and a rock wall built entirely of ‘side of road pick up’ rocks. There are rain chains too, …
2009-08: Chris Bryant and Skip Wade’s Garden
We’ve been working on our garden for about ten years. Our goal has been to create a cool and quite outdoor rooms in which to relax and entertain friends.
There is no specific style of gardening, we’ve just through it all together like a large floral arrangement. The front garden is fenced in for privacy and to make the garden feel part of the porch. The back gardens are edge with river rocks gathered over the years from our favorite swimming hole.
2009-09: The Natural Gardeners, Annie J. and Mr. Jeff Menzer
The garden, home, and studios of Annie and “Mr.Jeff” bring a smile to your face. Their small lot is packed with Re-Art and a diverse palate of plant life……with many native varieties to enjoy.
Mr. Jeff makes outdoor durable Art out of industrial discards and multiples that can be extracted from the waste stream, such as marbles, corks, golfballs, brick, roofing ,etc.
2009-10: Sunny Point Kitchen Garden
As “FarmGirl” (Lauri Newman), I have been gardening at the Sunny Point Café for more than 3 years. In 2007, I began designing the Sunny Point Cafe Garden to be a beautiful and inspiring space for the community, and provide fresh produce, herbs and flowers for the café. I began the installation in March 2008, and this is its first full year of “Garden to Table.”
Area 4: Burton Street
2009-11: Burton Street Community Peace Garden
Started in 2003 as a peaceful response to the current war in Iraq and heavy drug activity in the neighborhood, Burton Street Community Peace Gardens is a growing labor of love in the heart of the Burton Street Community. From its humble beginnings as an overgrown lot filled with discarded 40-ounce bottles, the Gardens have grown to include two vegetable/flower gardening sites, stage area, fire pit, cob pizza oven, greenhouse, and sculpture gardens.
Area 5: East-West Asheville
2009-12: Gnomon
The Gnomon is the garden that Christopher Mello has created on the corner of Westwood and Waynesville Avenue off Haywood Road behind the Rocket Club and the bio-diesel pump. A gnomon is the shadow caster of a sundial and the name is in memory of a fallen gardening friend, Randy Palmer. Rest in peace Randy.
2009-13: Wamboldtopia
“Wamboldtopia encompasses our garden, studio and home. It is our sanctuary and playground, wide open for creative expression – a little Utopia if you will! It all started 10 years ago with a simple geometric herb garden and has grown ever since.”
Damaris Pierce and her husband Ricki, a.k.a. The Rock Pirate, combine their passions for gardening, masonry and art in their magical and playful sculpture garden.