By Jessica Klarp
Gardening is a journey. Just as the seasons change each year, so do the conditions in a garden. A tree grows and what was once sunny is now dappled shade, or a shade garden becomes flooded with light when a tree falls. That means gardeners are always looking for new and different plants to accommodate the shifts.
The Black Mountain Beautification Committee (BMBC) provides seasoned and casual gardeners with a wide range of plant materials to accommodate changing conditions. For more than 20 years the non-profit organization dedicated to beautifying this charming small town has hosted a popular and fun garden sale to support its efforts. This year’s sale takes place Friday, May 15, from 1-6 p.m. and Saturday, May 16, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the town square parking lot at the intersection of East State Street and West Street next to the Visitors Center.
To BMBC members, the event is about more than plants and garden-related products. Roynan Jones has been the dynamic chair of the garden committee since 2021. “This is not just a garden sale,” says Jones. “It’s a social event. It’s like a homecoming; there are so many hugs and smiles. And it supports a wide range of regional vendors and local businesses with the number of people and families who come to town specifically for the sale year after year.”
In addition to more than 20 vendors, there is a Members’ Market that sells goods created and donated by Beautification members, a bake sale to sustain guests as they browse and shop, and a raffle (3 tickets for $5) with a chance to win plants donated by vendors.
In addition to those who reliably return each year are new vendors. “These new participants are the Asheville Blue Ridge Rose Society; Happy Valley Orchard, in Candler, with 100 varieties of figs; Homegrown Tropicals, offering houseplants, garden art and A Living Art Topiary with tabletop specimens; and Swannanoa’s brand-new Unicorn Farm Nursery & Landscaping,” says Gail Bomer, who organizes the show’s vendors.
Tom Ross of High Country Nursery, located in Fairview, has been a vendor at the sale since 2016. High Country specializes in fine and unusual landscape plants and uncommon specimen trees hardy to our local climate.
“I love working with plant people who are kind, share the same compassion for their plants and landscapes, and are excited to experiment with the new plants and ideas that develop,” says Ross. “The committee is very accommodating and provides me with an area that is large enough to display my plant and tree materials.”
Shari Galant leads the Members’ Market. “We sell items that are handmade by members, such as stained glass, knitted baby sweaters, bluebird houses, curated gift baskets, wooden yard art, and handcrafted jewelry, among other donations. We are always surprised by the beautiful items donated for sale. And the committee benefits from the money raised by the Members’ Market to help fund our work throughout the year.”
Proceeds from the Garden Sale help support the Seed Money Award and the Community Improvement Award to keep Black Mountain beautiful. BMBC is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization established in 2000 with more than 100 active members who maintain Town Square, 28 public green spaces and 51 container gardens, decorate the town seasonally, regularly weed and pick up litter.
For more information about BMBC or the Garden Sale, visit BlackMountainBeautification.org.
