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.

Less than a year ago, Liz Preyer asked the owner/designer of Elysian Fields, Carole Meyer, if she could help create a welcoming and intimate garden for her ECO/Bunglalow home. After Carole’s architect husband, Scott Meyer, built a cedar fence to frame the small lot, an exciting explosion of desires and ideas began to unfold! Small dwarf trees, evergreens, conifers, and flowering hardwoods soon arrived, followed by a layering of unusual bulbs, perennials and textured, aromatic groundcovers. In the back of the house, hand cut stone “rooms” made spaces for raised beds, a meditative fountain space, and another area for outside gatherings. Liz reflects, “This lush, but tiny, tender garden/oasis has given me, as well as the many walkers, cyclists and friends, great joy, ease and rich satisfactions with its ever-changing wonderful gifts!”

Upon buying their bungalow in 2007, Amanda and Michael Silverman inherited a very simply landscaped yard, heavily laden with solid green hostas and lilies and short on anything else. A constant project, their goal in the beginning was to plant anything that wasn’t solid green and didn’t require full sun. With time and generous friends with interesting non-green shade plants, the garden is beginning to have a personality. Even a summer which began with numerous hail storms can’t keep a hosta down and the recent summer camp on fairy houses attended by their daughter has added a new dimension to the garden. Don’t be surprised if you happen upon a fairy dwelling or two while exploring this hosta haven.

In his four year old garden, Eli Strull has been planting and transplanting, observing color and form, and soaking up plant knowledge. He planned the overall design in advance using primarily found and re-purposed materials, including all the metal and locust rails. Working within a modest budget, the plant selection and layout of each garden section expresses his fondness for the cyclical nature of perennials which he intersperses with seasonal edibles. “Organically cultivated with an eye to year-round interest,” says Eli, “the garden feeds my love of fresh floral arrangements while my children savor the peas and strawberries. What started as a lawn alternative now has me wanting to design, build and tend gardens for others. I support that vision with ongoing experimentation in my home garden.”

Our garden is oh so conveniently located directly behind the café. Having an on-site garden is part of Sunny Point’s commitment to the environment. “We deliver food with feet not fuel, creating local jobs and beautifying our community in the process.” A work in progress over the past 6 years, it began supplying only small amounts of culinary herbs and flowers, but now provides lots of herbs and flowers and supplements the cafe’s produce needs, making possible the Café’s “extra special garden specials.” “We love knowing that many enjoy this working garden and delight to hear stories from some who’ve been inspired by it. We are so thankful to live in this community.”

The Hop West Presents: “Going Green with Moss” with the owner of Mountain Moss Enterprises, Mossin’ Annie. Come visit the mini-moss garden at Rainbow Mountain School co-designed by third-graders and learn about the environmental benefits of moss gardening. Stop by The Honeybee Project to learn how bee pollination helps our gardens grow. Ask how the Outdoor Classroom and gardening are used to learn about growing local food. Find out more about the green benefits of moss by visiting www.mountainmoss.com. The Hop West will have local handmade ice cream and bottled water available for purchase. You can also buy garden art and garden-themed bags. Restrooms, parking, and drinking fountain available.

Founded in 2005, West Asheville’s Green Hill Urban Farm seeks to provide convenient access to neo-agrarian culture and sustainably produced food to the surrounding Asheville area. Saved from development, Green Hill is a shining example of green space preservation achieved through the collaboration of private citizens. The four varied acres of gardens now include new and old orchards, raspberry patches, aquaponics, ducks, chickens, quails, and more. In its fourth year as a community-supported agriculture farm, Green Hill founder Michael Fortune works with 40 families. Families buy shares in advance of the harvest to support the farm’s operational costs and in exchange receive regular selections of food, herbs, and flowers during the growing season. (See www.greenhillurbanfarm.com for details.)

Landscaping at the West Asheville library includes a mix of deciduous trees along the street and an eye-pleasing combination of shrubs and perennials around the building.  Plantings include rhododendron, azalea, rose of Sharon, St. John’s wort, pansies, viola, ferns, lemon balm, salvia, coneflower, soapwort, gooseneck loosestrife, and many others.  Plantings are maintained by volunteer gardener Tom Jordan with support from Asheville GreenWorks.

For three years, 15 families have been working cooperatively on a plot of about 1/4 acre, and they’re growing!  This year, they added 10,000 square feet, a gazebo, a bean teepee, stone stairs, and a rainwater irrigation system.  They’re growing potatoes, pumpkins, cutting flowers, basil, greens, tomatoes, melons, sweet potatoes, beets, asparagus, beans and more.  For the first time this Fall, they’ll harvest honey from their two beehives.  “We have monthly potlucks to which neighbors and friends are invited, and an annual harvest party in early October.  We are accepting new cooperative members for our fall season.” Contact Jennifer@jmurphyart.com for more info.