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Friday: Asheville Tour:
Biltmore Estate Gardens
The year was 1969 and I was 9 years old. It was my first visit
to the Biltmore Estate and a fascination began that continues to this
day. I quickly went through the few rooms that were open on the
first floor and sped out into the garden. When my mother and the
staff members from the estate found me, I was lying on the bank above
the Bass pond oblivious to the fact that I was supposedly lost on the
grounds.My next memory is of my grandmother and me filling bags with
recently dug tulip bulbs from huge piles in the walled garden. The
staff members digging the bulbs politely turned their heads and
whispered, “We’re just going to throw them away and we didn’t see
anything.” The bank outside my grandmother’s backdoor was really
impressive that spring. In the years since, I have used every
opportunity to return to the estate and wander through the grounds.
I have volunteered to chaperone countless school trips, and for
several years held a season pass. Since becoming an instructor in
the Landscape Gardening program at Caldwell Community College, I have
encouraged some of our most promising students to become summer
interns in the horticulture department at Biltmore.In my almost 40 year relationship with Biltmore I have discovered
its long and distinguished horticulture heritage. It is a heritage
that began with the construction of Hunt’s impressive chateau. It
started with elaborate plans developed by Frederick Law Olmsted and was
brought to fruition by Chauncey Beadle, Charles McNamee, Robert
Bottomley, James Gall, the Boynton brothers and many others. In its
heyday the Biltmore nursery, developed to provide the millions of
plants needed for the estate, became one of the largest commercial
nurseries in existence. It covered almost 300 acres and had 75,000
square feet of greenhouse and coldframe space. At one time the
Biltmore nursery catalog was so extensive and the plant descriptions
so complete it was used as a textbook for Plant Material classes in
some universities.One can only imagine what the planned arboretum would have been
like if they had followed through with Olmsted’s ambitious plan. The
arboretum idea was eventually abandoned and many of the unusual
specimens collected for it by Beadle found a home in the Glen. Years
later Beadle’s collection of native azaleas were also added to the
Glen and the name was changed to the Azalea Garden.Our tour will begin with a bus ride along the Approach Road. Try
to imagine this area as it looked immediately after James Galls’ crew
finished grading the road and redirecting Ram Branch. It was an
almost blank slate waiting to be planted in Olmsted’s naturalistic
style incorporating both native and exotic plants to achieve his
desired effect of subtropical luxuriance. As we traverse the Approach Road, unique features of the landscape design and plantings will be pointed out by Biltmore staff. Everyone will then be dropped off at the entrance to the Shrub Garden to ramble. From here you will take a self guided tour through the Shrub Garden, Spring Garden, Walled Garden, and Conservatory, ultimately arriving at the Azalea Garden. The rest of
your time can be spent in the Azalea Garden admiring the extensive
collection of azaleas and other unique plants. The lower part of this
garden contains magnificent examples of Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia
glyptostroboides), China Fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata), Katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum), and Bigleaf Magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla).Planted under the trees is an equally interesting shrub layer. Look for the rare Disanthus cercidifolius peeking out from under the Hydrangeas and tree-like Cephalotaxus. Other plants of interest are the large Stinking Cedars (Torreya taxifolia), a very large Persian Ironwood (Parrotia persica), and Cut leaf European Beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Asplenifolia’). Once you have finished exploring, return to the buses which will pick you up just above the Azalea Garden. Complete your tour of the estate with a leisurely ride along the French Broad River, as the bus captains give a brief history of the estate’s agriculture and horticulture legacy. For those who would like to spend more time on the Estate and visit the Chateau and Winery, discount tickets will be available for purchase at the plant sale. It is worth noting that Dr. Michael Dirr made an annual pilgrimage with students to the estate while teaching at UGA. Of the over 325 genera listed in his Manual Of Woody Landscape Plants, I have been able to find almost 200 represented at the estate . . . by Aaron Cook
Friday: Asheville Tour: Charles Dexter Owen garden
Gardens are thematically designed to reflect the cultural and natural heritage of the Southern Appalachians, demonstrate the formal and informal, the man-made and the natural aspects prevalent on this property. They provide the classroom space to help people understand the role of plants in their lives. Emphasis is given to the ecological, horticultural and educational value of plants native to the Southern Appalachian region, their relatives from other geographic regions, and other non-native plants, cultivars, and selections suitable for landscape use.
Several gardens you will see during your visit include: the Quilt Garden with colorful raised beds designed after traditional quilt patterns; the Heritage Garden featuring plants used in traditional folk medicine and crafts of the Appalachians; and the Bonsai Exhibition Garden showcasing one of the best collections of bonsai in the Southeastern United States, with special emphasis on native plants, and perhaps most importantly the National Native Azalea Repository.
Other features to see during your visit include The Baker Exhibit Center, which welcomes visitors and features special exhibits in science, art and culture. On May 2, an exhibit titled “Dr. Entomo’s Palace of Exotic Wonders” will be in its third month. Reminiscent of a traditional circus sideshow, this exhibit features more than two-dozen living and mounted bugs ranging from glow-in-the-dark scorpions to bird-eating tarantulas. Other Arboretum facilities include: the Education Center; a state-of-the-art production greenhouse; and the Operations Center with “green roof” technology. While visiting the Arboretum, we will enjoy lunch at the Savory Thyme Cafe, with its nearby gift shops, The Garden Trellis, and Connections Gallery.
Friday: Asheville Tour: Haywood Community College is a two-year college offering technical, occupational and liberal arts associate degrees, including course work in horticulture supported by its overall landscape plan and arboretum designed by Doan Ogden. The original inventory of trees on the 80 acre campus, done in the 1960’s, had 880 trees – more than 22 native species – with most averaging 100 years old. Since then 100 new species of trees, shrubs, and ground covers have been added.
Haywood Community College Rhododendron Garden Ogden’s accomplishment includes a fine series of flower gardens (such as a dahlia garden, an Oriental garden, and a rose garden), a preserved native forest, a wonderful variety of trees (including a willow walk), and the Rhododendron Garden, one of the better rhododendron collections in this western region of North Carolina. Designed to extend the blooming season as long as possible, the Rhododendron Garden follows a delicate rhythm in harmony with nature. Careful landscaping gives the effect of a long, leisurely walk deeper and deeper into the forest, even though the walk only measures .33 mile. The woodland canopy of tall oak, poplar, and hickory filters sunlight onto the rhododendrons which filter it yet again onto the herbaceous layer below, dense with ferns and wildflowers such as bleeding heart (Dicentra eximia), foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), and bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis). At the heart of the garden lies Ogden Circle, a council ring 24 feet in diameter surrounded by four walls tapering up from the earth. The walls define four paths that cross here, radiating from a centered millstone. Tall, columnar boxwoods punctuate the circle. Students contribute hanging baskets, wooden flower boxes of impatiens and lobelia, and a living sculpture of annual plants atop the millstone.
Structures within the garden, such as the wooden arbor supporting Dutchman’s pipe vines (Aristolochia gigantea) or the split-rail fences dividing cinnamon ferns (Osmunda cinnamonea) and periwinkle, work with the native plants. The Rockery hosts lichen- and moss-covered rocks, thick ferns, and wildflowers. A virtual wall of Eastern hemlock glows bright green with tips of new spring growth. Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota) grows near the trail’s end.
To see an excellent article about the gardens, click here to download a 1.8MB PDF from the May/June 2004 issue of Carolina Gardener magazine.
Friday: R. vaseyi Tour: Pilot Mountain / Pisgah Inn
The group will travel to Pilot Mountain near Brevard, North Carolina in fifteen passenger vans, ending up at the north end of Pilot Mountain within a few feet of the Art Loeb trail. We usually see a few early R. calendulaceum along the road and some R. vaseyi as we get near the parking lot. A moderate (i.e., not easy but not strenous, but do wear hiking shoes) climb along the switchbacks of the Art Loeb trail through the masses of R. vaseyi will take a little over one hour. You will find strategically located surprises along the trail, just in time to spend a moment catching your breath and taking pictures of the jack-in-the-pulpits, trillium, ferns and other wildflowers. The view from the top of the mountain is a 360-degree wonder encompassing the Blue Ridge Parkway, Johns Rock, and surrounding territory.After returning to the van, the party will make its way to the famed Pisgah Inn for lunch. The afternoon tour will include the Blue Ridge Parkway to Highway 215 and the Devils Courthouse. On Friday, the Vaseyi Tour can choose to include the North Carolina Arboretum and its National Native Azalea Repository on the way back to the hotel.
Augie Kehr at Pilot Mountain saturday tours: Hendersonville area
Saturday: Hendersonville Tour: Bell Garden
The Doley and Melody Bell garden began in the 1970s as a retirement venture for former educators David and Naoma Dean. Credit for the garden design and layout goes to the Deans. Following David’s death, Naoma married Dr. Allen Clague and they continued improving and maintaining the garden until Doley and Melody Bell became stewards of the garden in June of 2000.Saturday: Hendersonville Tour: Stelloh Garden
Saturday: Hendersonville Tour: James and Mary Ann Stewart (Kehr) Garden