Saturday, September 14, 2013
The annual West Asheville Garden Stroll tour showcases gardens adjacent to Haywood Road in West Asheville, an area bounded by Haywood Road, Michigan, Riverview, and State Street. The event runs from 11 AM-4 PM, and kicks off at the Hall Fletcher Elementary School (60 Ridgelawn Avenue), at 10:30AM. The West Asheville Garden Stroll is FREE and open to the public, rain or shine. Nearby is the River Arts District.
This year's theme is "garden to table," resonating with the vibrant food culture of Asheville, including independent restaurants featuring farm-to-table dinners, tailgate markets galore, churches devoting land to feed those in need, the Food Policy Council urging the city to plant more edibles, and Permaculture in Action installing productive alternatives to conventional lawns. This year's Stroll is all about what we all bring to the table, whether cut flowers from remarkable ornamental gardens or seasonal abundance from edible gardens.
In West Asheville's sprawling and diverse community, gardens of all kinds are emerging: permacultural and traditional, individual and communal, floral, agricultural and medicinal. In 15 gardens, strollers can ponder what the yard can offer to the table, see fruit trees, berries and grapes, a hazelnut hedge and cranberry bog, hoop houses for winter gardens, an asparagus garden, and chickens. And delight in floral displays that might grace the table, enjoy arrays of fall flowers, offset by trellises, birdbaths, and yard art. There's interesting infrastructure as well, including large scale water storage, different terracing methods and edgings, various sorts of raised beds and paths. Learn from gardeners' varied experiences through question-and-answer sessions and first-hand viewing.
Featured gardens this year are mostly clustered in three groups that could easily be biked. Strollers are encouraged to park in designated lots, like Hall Fletcher School and stroll to nearby gardens. The West Asheville Garden Stroll is a non-profit endeavor led by a group of passionate gardeners. This rising community tradition welcomes donations! For more information, www.WestAshevilleGardens.com.
