Wednesday, March 26, 2014

2012 Asheville Garden Bloggers Fling - Day 1, afternoon

After our morning community gardens and our eclectic mid-day gardens, we spent the afternoon strolling around the North Carolina Arboretum. I was in need of some quiet time by this point so I headed off for a stroll in the woods by myself. 

8_wooded_walk

9_woods

10_north_carolina_arboretum

11_multi_use_bench

12_north_carolina_view

After a while I stumbled upon the bonsai collection and enjoyed the woods in miniature. 

13_miniature_woods

14_bonsai

15_minature_forest

Looping back to the entrance of the arboretum, I passed by some interesting plants:

16_polemonium_hydrangea_combo

17_hydrangea_steps

18_sea_shell_flowers19_kalmia_latifolia20_echinacea_pallida21_pleached_trees

22_parterres

And some interesting structures:

23_controlled_view24_rafters25_potting_bench26_wall_hanging

The Arboretum has a variety of garden types from formal to educational to wild, something for everyone!

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

2012 Asheville Garden Bloggers Fling - Day 1, mid-day

After the creative recycling exuberance of the morning gardens on our tour, we headed over to the mellow kitchen garden at Sunny Point Cafe. With an enviable sizable plot next to the restaurant, Sunny Point Cafe is able to grow much of its produce steps away from the kitchen. Can't get much fresher than that. 

1-sunny_point_cafe

2_leafy_greens

3_oregano

4_veggie_plots

5_entry_gardens6_creepy_scarecrow

7_camo_rain_catchment

8_coffee_mug_planters9_ampelopsis_brevipedunculata_variegata

Next up we visited the wonderland of Wamboldtopia. Combine one part smuggler's cave, one part medieval church, one part industrial-revolution factory, and one part elfin enclave and you have Wamboldtopia.

1_wamboldtopia

2_fence3_listen_to_the_light4_gear_railing5_gear_sculpture


6_round_and_rusty

7_shady_garden

8_elf_house9_walnut_bowl10_shady_bench11_koi_pond

12_stone_siding

13_tall_trees14_little_monsters

15_castle_walls

15_sweatlodge

16_bones

17_house_detail20_shady_garden

18_brick_details

21_water_feature

22_castle_details

One of the owners of Womboldtopia, Ricki Pierce, aka "The Rock Pirate" - is an obvious virtuoso of rock placement and stone masonry.  

23_castle_skeleton24_rock_pirate

I'm not sure who convinced Helen Yoest and myself to pose on the Rock Pirate truck but I was obviously into it. And we hadn't even had drinks yet. 

25_rock_pirate_wenches

For lunch we headed over to Curve Studios, a set of warehouses transformed into wonderful gallery spaces and surrounded by beautiful gardens. 

1_curve

I love this use of prefabricated steel mesh to create walls to the edible garden that keep critters out but allow lots of light in. 

2_veggie_garden_gate

3_veggie_garden_fencing

4_curve_gardens

5_decadent_growth

6_curve_plantings

7_gravel_seating_area

It was a lovely place for lunch! Next we headed over for a pleasant stroll at the North Carolina Arboretum. I'll save those photos for the next post!