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.”

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.

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.

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.