For the last 15 years new beds have emerged when trees reach the end of their lives. The brutal spring freeze of 2007 may have killed the sour cherry, but that Hari Kari Cherry just made way for asparagus, figs and garlic beds. Ever-changing through lots of trial and error, the stalwart perennial survivors have made it through more than an occasional refusal to water, and even a new puppy’s teething spells. Dispersed through the grasses, vegetables and flowers, Mimi Strang’s sculptures add yet another element of color and texture. This garden represents a true synthesis of artistic sensibility and horticultural exploration. The garden sculptures are for sale and 10% rolls back to support next years’ Stroll.

In 20 years at 72 Vermont, Marion Norwood has gardened just about every inch of her yard, including half of the driveway which she dug up to create more planting space. Her use of reseeding annuals has created a cottage garden effect. When she originally established the garden, most of the perennials were gifts from friends. Now she enjoys passing on these same plants to other gardeners. A visit to Rosemary Verey’s potager in England inspired her to make her kitchen garden decorative as well as productive. With an interest in gardening according to the phases and signs of the moon, Marion’s intent is “to create a peaceful and private meditative space where I can have fun with my cats, grow food and celebrate the changing seasons.”

This first year garden has transformed an unkept lot into a garden that strives to produce and delight. An initial effort focused on establishing perennial beds and hardscaping along the perimeter. Mixed with common flowers, many fruit-bearing perennials were planted, including blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, peaches, and currants. In addition, the backyard has several raised beds dedicated to standard rotations of spinach, carrots, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, beans, peas, and peppers. Fitted with cold frames, these beds also support a winter garden. The front yard offers space for warm season vegetables like squash, melons, and cucumbers. “Key principles guiding this ongoing transformation,” says gardener Erik Ostergaard, “are conservation (including an 800 gallon rain water collection system), waste recycling in composting bins, and organic gardening using natural products.”

Twins Will and Carolyn Wallace are the family gardeners for their mother Kathleen who moved to Asheville from Mississippi 8 years ago at age 82. Will oversees a large, terraced vegetable plot that provides an abundance of delectable seasonal offerings. Using truckloads of horse manure, tons of leaves, grass clippings, and food scraps, he creates what Carolyn brags about as the “the best compost ever.” Carolyn focuses on the front yard’s cottage garden. She collects pass-along plants and loves playing with color, texture, and garden kitsch. “Gardening is in our blood, Carolyn says. “Will spends many hours in his garden every single day. And I have to keep my heart near, and my hands in, the soil.”

Planning for this environmentally friendly community on four acres bordered by Rhododendron Creek began in 1995, with input from Permaculturist Chuck Marsh. Goals included composting, limiting lawns, avoiding toxic chemicals, growing organic, and emphasizing edible landscapes and native plants. Pumps bring collected rainwater from three large cisterns to shared gardens. A small orchard produces apples and pears; elsewhere, grapes, blackberries, & blueberries grow. Included in the the central terraced area are numerous vegetable plots. A butterfly garden – their Peace Garden – sits at the top of the terraces. To the left/north of the farmhouse, beekeeping hives help support another vegetable garden. “We share in the work and in the harvest of the gardens, and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do!”

Andi Smith inherited her garden from landlords who worked very hard to turn a grassy front yard into fertile beds suitable for growing food. She’s only worked this garden since December and this is only the third year that she’s had a garden of any kind. “Gardening has taught me and nourished me, and it’s great fun,” Andi says. “Although my garden challenges me, it also gives me a sense of accomplishment, especially when, after a few hours of hard work, there’s a fine meal of the freshest possible veggies.” Initially she only wanted to grow various veggies and herbs, but when volunteer poppies and bachelor buttons popped up all over the yard, she realized that with flowers she could also harvest smiles.

Public Spaces for All Species

At West Asheville Park, just behind left field, a neglected hillside holds the beginnings of a public food forest. Conceived in the spirit of community initiatives two years ago, the Buncombe Fruit and Nuts Club planted small clusters of mostly native perennials, paying careful attention to the soil conditions necessary to build resiliency and withstand neglect. The Club’s intention was to create an easily managed, mini-forest system as a prototype. They envision a day when public edible parks and gardens will quilt our public spaces and be places that foster new human relationships, through learning, sharing, cooperation, compassion, and of course, really good, fresh food.

Rhododendron Creek Restoration

In 2008, Riverlink teamed with Baker Engineering to develop and implement a stream restoration and stormwater mitigation project in West Asheville Park. The project reduces sedimentation and improves water quality in Rhododendron Creek which benefits the larger downstream system of Hominy Creek and the French Broad River. 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. RiverLink now holds a conservation easements over the entire riparian buffer area of this project which will protect it in perpetuity. For more information, visit riverlink.org, their riverwhisperer blog, or RiverLink’s facebook pages.

Amy Lanou started the garden at 30 Virginia Ave three seasons ago with the intention of growing fresh herbs and vegetables and learning about the pleasures of urban gardening. She and her partner, Sophie Mills, travel regularly to Sophie’s childhood home in West London. Amy continues to be inspired by the tiny and productive urban gardens she sees in England where the plants are often tightly packed and interestingly grouped together. Amy’s main focus for her garden so far is on growing food, paying attention to the plants, and taking care of the flowers and trees that she inherited from a previous resident. One day she hopes to write a book titled, Beautiful and Functional: Front Yard Gardening in Two Hours a Week.

Seven years ago at 80 Virginia, Leslie MacAvoy and Parks Scott started transforming the patchy scrap of lawn dotted with a few old rose bushes by creating flower beds around the porch and a big vegetable garden to supply plenty of summer produce with extra to freeze and can for winter. Gradually they expanded the flower beds around the house and along the street, with plans for a large shade garden on one side. “The gardens haven’t been planned so much as they have evolved as an expression of our aesthetic sensibilities, our values, and the way we live,” Leslie says. What has emerged is a cottage garden focusing on perennials and self-sowing flowers, which fits with the farmhouse style of the place.