BOTANICAL GARDENS

Just two miles from downtown, the Botanical Gardens at Asheville provides a beautiful spot for a leisurely stroll to enjoy nature. The Botanical Gardens highlight the ecosystem of the area. That includes native plants, some in danger of extinction, that have been saved and cared for in these gardens for more than 50 years. As one reviewer put it:“We’re reminded of how everything works together, including birds, pollinators, wildlife, soil, water, and air. Without any of these contributors, plants could not thrive. Without plants, humans could not thrive.”The garden collections focus on plants native to our Southern Appalachian Mountains and include a large variety of trees, shrubs, vines, wildflowers, herbs, grasses, sedges, aquatic plants, ferns, mosses, and lichens—approximately 600 species in all. You can enjoy this beautiful display while traversing the site’s ten acres on an easy half-mile loop trail that takes you across bridges over streams, through meadows, and across a woodland ridge to a wildflower cove.The peak wildflower season is April to mid-May, however, something is always flowering. Berries and Goldenrods are plentiful in Summer. Fall brings out the varieties of Asters and Eupatorium and the trees explode in a display of autumn colors. A winter stroll will not disappoint you.The Botanical Gardens are a great place for a picnic lunch. You will find strategically placed picnic benches and tables through out. Regardless of the time of day, you will be surprised at how easy it is to spend quiet moments listening to the ripple of the creek and the birds sing.One of the most unexpected things in the Gardens is the “Moon Tree,” grown from the seed of a tree taken on the 1971 Apollo 14 lunar mission. It is on the west end of the garden, near Weaver Creek. There is also Hayes Cabin, built in the 1840s and moved from Madison County to illustrate what life in the mountains was like in the early years. If you are visiting with children, pick up an investigation passport for each child. The passports send their holders on a mission to use their investigational skills to find historic markers, certain plants, trees, and garden locations that they then record in their passports.The Botanical Gardens are open every day of the year from dawn to dusk. There is no fee for admission, although donations are always welcome. The Visitor Center, housing the Garden Path Gift Shop, is open daily from mid-March through mid-December.Unfortunately, if you are traveling with your pet, you will need to leave it with a friend since dogs are not allowed.