Walk or Bike to the Intriguing Gardens of West Asheville
The eighth annual West Asheville Garden Stroll (WAGS) will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (rain or shine) on Saturday, September 10. There’s no better way to begin a stroll than with a send-off performance and blessing by the Faerie Kin Stilt Walkers.
This free family event kicks off at Vance Elementary School, 98 Sulphur Springs Road, where there will be information about local groups involved in gardening and displays from eight projects funded by WAGS 2016 Seed Grant Program. This year’s theme: Growing with West Asheville.
“This is our eighth year bringing the Garden Stroll to the greater community,” says WAGS coordinator Scott Miller. “It made us think about how Asheville and West Asheville in particular have grown. We believe that the growth has been for the better, bringing in new folks and new ways of doing things. There is no better place to see this than in our neighborhoods and gardens.”
The stroll includes 15 creative gardens along a walkable and bicycle-friendly route in West Asheville’s neighborhoods between Sand Hill and Sulphur Springs roads and from Vance School to Rumbough Place. Along the way, participants will enjoy the Vance School Gardens, a boxwood parterre garden, walled outdoor “rooms,” a teahouse, and ponds with giant koi. Also on the Stroll are an urban farm with chickens, a bocce court, a native plant garden, a rain garden, and examples of permaculture design.
“Stroll guides” will answer your questions and offer directions to the gardens of your choice. WAGS is a nonprofit endeavor led by a group of passionate gardeners.
For more information, visit westashevillegardens. com.
