ARS+ASA Joint Convention • APPALACHIAN SPRING 2012 • Asheville NC • May 4-7, 2012

This schematic map shows the general locations of a numbered list of gardens, nurseries and other attractions in and around Asheville, North Carolina that may be of interest to convention attendees. Their addresses and descriptions are given below. Along with a GPS unit or the use of an online mapping system such as www.maps.google.com to give you driving directions, these will help you plan your own trips. Click here to download the map and list.

Asheville North Carolina

(1) Asheville Botanical Gardens 151 W.T. Weaver Blvd. Asheville NC 28804 828-252-5190	Public garden (free); open daily, dawn to dusk; mostly wheelchair-accessible	A 10 acre forested garden with over 600 species of plants native to the Southern Appalachians, including trees, shrubs, wildflowers, vines, grasses and sedges. They include over 50 species that are considered uncommon, rare or endangered on a regional, state or federal level. www.ashevillebotanicalgardens.org
(2) WhiteGate Inn	Monday tour	see convention writeup
(3) Reems Creek Nursery 70 Monticello Road Weaverville NC 28787 828-645-3937	M-F 8-6, Sat 8:30-5, Sun 10-4	Full service nursery, good selection of trees, shrubs, ground covers and herbs. www.reemscreek.com
(4) Biltmore Estate	Friday tour	see convention writeup
(4a) Charles Owen	Saturday tour	see convention writeup
(4b) North Carolina Arboretum	Saturday tour	see convention writeup
(5) B B Barnes Nursery 3377 Sweeten Creek Road Arden NC 28704 828-650-7300	Mon-Sat 9-5	Convention sponsor; large full-service nursery with top-quality plants and many unique and unusual plants www.bbbarns.com
(6) Jesse Israel Nursery 570 Brevard Road Asheville NC 28806 828-254-2671	Mon-Sat 8-6, Sun 10-6	Convention sponsor; large full-service nursery, top quality trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, herbs and bedding plants www.jesseisraelandsonsnursery.com
(7) Grove Park Inn 290 Macon Ave Asheville NC 28804 800-438-5800	Public, historic hotel; wheelchair accessible	Built in 1913 of huge boulders from nearby mountains; fun to walk through and look at the photos; famous guests ranging from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Barack Obama have stayed here. www.groveparkinn.com/ashevile-nc-history.aspx
(8) Folk Art Center Milepost 382, Blue Ridge Parkway Asheville NC 828-298-7928	Public (free); daily 9-6	One mile north on the Blue Ridge Parkway from the US 70 entrance. Outstanding folk and contemporary crafts of all kinds from the Southern Highland Craft Guild. www.romanticasheville.com/folk_art.htm
(9) Craggy Gardens Milepost 364, Blue Ridge Parkway Asheville NC 828-298-0398	Public (free); daily 10-4	24 miles north of the US 70 entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway; stunning views, many acres of native rhododendrons. www.romanticasheville.com/Craggy.htm
(10) Mount Mitchell 2388 State Highway 128 Burnsville NC 28714 828-675-4611	State Park; Public (free); 8-8	33 miles north of Asheville at Milepost 355 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, highest point east of the Mississippi River at 6684', breathtaking views. www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/momi/main.php
(11) Asheville Airport 61 Terminal Drive Fletcher NC 28732		off I-280 at I-26, 14 miles south of the Crowne Plaza hotel. www.flyavl.com

Hendersonville North Carolina

(12) Doley & Melody Bell	Monday tour	see convention writeup
(13) Laurel Springs Nursery 34 Country Road Hendersonville NC 28791 828-891-1264	Mon-Sat 9-5	Specializing in native azaleas and other native plants, shrubs and trees, many grown onsite at the nursery www.laurelspringsnursery.blogspot.com
(14) Bob & Audrey Stelloh	Sunday tour	see convention writeup
(15) Kehr Memorial Garden 1905 Greenville Highway Flat Rock NC 28731	Public garden (free), daily, dawn to dusk; some wheelchair access	A small garden at St John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church, dedicated in 2003 in memory of Dr August Kehr, and planted with his hybrid azaleas and rhododendrons and magnolias. www.pbase.com/kehr
(16) Raymonds Nursery 1320 Kanuga Road Hendersonville NC 28739 828-696-8000	Mon-Sat 9-5	Small full service nursery, many native plants grown onsite www.raymondsgc.com
(17) Carl Sandburg Home 81 Carl Sandburg Lane Flat Rock NC 28731 828-693-4178	Public (free, $5 for 30 minute house tour); daily 9-5	Connemara, home of the US poet laureate and "poet of the people", many exhibits, prize-winning goats, 5 miles of trails through 264 acres. www.nps.gov/carl/index.htm
(18) Collins/Stewart	Sunday tour	see convention writeup
(18a) Richards	Monday tour	see convention writeup
(19) Bullington Horticultural Center	Monday tour	see convention writeup
(20) Larason & Juanita Lambert 56 Fernhaven Place Hendersonville NC 828-685-0180 lamberts@brinet.com	Private garden; open May 8-9, 9-4, park and honk; not wheelchair accessible	Fernhaven, the Lambert's three acre garden, is a forest garden with streams, waterfalls and a pond. More than 50 native species of ferns are planted in drifts in natural settings, and interplanted with a wide variety of native azaleas, along steps, paths and bridges leading the visitors to viewpoints and resting spots with garden vistas. With nearly a mile of trails, three shelters and numerous benches, there is plenty of opportunity to explore and rest in this uniquely lovely garden.
(21) Pearson's Falls 2748 Pearsons Falls Road Saluda NC 828-749-3031	Public garden ($5); Mon-Sat 10-5, Sun noon-5pm; not wheelchair accessible	Quarter-mile moderate hike through hundreds of species of wildflowers to the base of a 90 foot waterfall www.pearsonsfalls.org

Rutherfordton/Forest City/Marion North Carolina

(22) Plants-a-Plenty Farm 890 Crowe Dairy Road Forest City NC 28043 828-286-2493	Wed-Sat 8:30-5:30, call Mon-Tues for appointment	Specializes in growing shade garden plants for over 25 years, including ferns, native azaleas and rhododendrons. Has a several acre display garden to see mature plants. www.plantsaplentyfarm.com/
(24) Meadowbrook Nursery 2055 Polly Spout Road Marion NC 28752 828-738-3000	Wed-Sat 9-5, call at other times USDA Zone 6B, 1300'	A 20 acre nursery and gardens nestled against Vein Mountain, with a beautiful lake-side display garden and a wide variety of native azaleas, native and exotic trees and companion plants grown on the property www.we-du.com
(25) Chimney Rock State Park 431 Main Street Chimney Rock NC 28720 828-625-9611	Public park ($15); every day 8:30am-4:30am	315' high monolith, 75 mile views, 400' waterfall, rock climbing clinics can be booked in advance, site of part of the film The Last of the Mohicans www.chimneyrockpark.com

Brevard North Carolina, Blue Ridge Parkway

(26) Fry Nursery 356 King Road Pisgah Forest NC 28768 828-884-6491	Mon-Sat 9-5	4 acre full service nursery, high quality ornamental trees and shrubs, dwarf conifers, annuals, perennials and fruit trees www.frynursery.com
(27) Dupont State Forest 1300 Staton Road Cedar Mountain NC 28718	Public (free); daily, dawn to dusk, almost no wheelchair accessibility	A 10,400 acre native forest, all open to hunting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking. It has 6 public parking areas, about 80 miles of dirt roads, many miles of hiking trails, 4 major waterfalls. www.dupontforest.com
(28) Curt Haag 8100 Greenville Highway Brevard NC 828-885-2581 coloradocurt@gmail.com	Private garden; email or call for appointment	Former home of Russ & Velma Haag, well-known rhododendron hybridizers. The house is surrounded by about 5 acres of selected hybrids they had planted for evaluation, and there is a large "seedling bed" with hundreds of hybrids planted about 30 years ago, along with a waterfall and a stream and lake, all nestled within 200 acres of forest. www.rhodogardens.com
(29) Fish Hatchery / Center for Wildlife Education 1401 Fish Hatchery Road Pisgah Forest NC 28768 828-877-4423	Public (free); Mon-Sat, 8-4:45; wheelchair accessible	trout hatchery, short paved interpretive trail through native plants www.blueridgeheritage.com/attractions-destinations/pisgah-center-wildlife
(30) Looking Glass Falls Hwy 276 Brevard NC	Public (free); daily dawn to dusk	6 miles N of Hwy 280 or 13 miles S of the Blue Ridge Parkway. View these falls from the road, with steps to the pool at the base, 60 feet below. These falls are the most-viewed falls in the area.
(31) Sliding Rock Highway 276 Brevard NC 28712 828-877-3265	Public ($1); daily, dawn to dusk	8 miles N of Hwy 280, 11 miles S of Blue Ridge Parkway. 60' water slide ending in an 8' deep pool.
(32) Cradle of Forestry Hwy 276 Brevard NC 828-0877-3130	Public ($5, free on Tuesdays); daily 9-5	15 miles N of Hwy 280, 4 miles S of Blue Ridge Parkway. Exhibits and trails relating to the beginnings of the US Forest Service in the early 1900s. www.cradleofforestry.com/site/
(33) Pilot Mountain FS 475 off Hwy 276 Brevard NC	Public (free), daily dawn to dusk	See the separate description of this moderate hike among native R. vaseyi azaleas and many species of wildflowers. www.pbase.com/azaleasociety/030505
(34) Pisgah Inn 408 Blue Ridge Parkway Brevard NC 28712 828-235-8228	Public; daily, 7:30am-9pm	14 miles south of NC 191 entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway; only inn and restaurant around; good food, huge windows in the dining room give beautiful vistas www.pisgahinn.com
(35) Betty & Walter Montgomery 145 Montgomery Drive Saluda NC 29773 864-415-9348 bmontgomery40@gmail.com	Private garden; May 8-9; call or email first	The house is at the very top of the hill - take a hard right and double back on yourself at the white garage. Montaire was built in 1955, and contains a lovely babbling stream, with lots of rhododendrons and wildflowers�and 150 different varieties of hydrangeas.

South Carolina

(36) Marilyn Grist	Sunday tour	see convention writeup
(37) Jackson & Pamela McCarter 280 Trammell Road Traveler's Rest SC 29690 864-834-9721 or 864-483-7299	Private garden; May 1,2,7,9,10; call or email first	An informal, rough, hilly, expansive rural woodland setting, in northern Greenville County, S.C., where rhododendrons and native azaleas have been naturalized. Most plants were raised in an on-site seedling nursery. Emphasis is on hardy and heat tolerant species, especially Japanese, with some hybrids.
(38) Boris & Jane Bauer 112 Woodward Way Easley SC 29640 864-269-9714 rhodies@bellsouth.net	Private garden; anytime before or after the convention, call or email first	The BauHaus (Bauer House) gardens were first cleared in the late 1970's. The two+ acre garden is set in a bottom land scenario which defies all the rules of planting rhododendron / azaleas in a Southern setting. Wander through tall 30 year old Dexter rhododendrons, one of the largest collections of deciduous magnolias on the east coast and laugh at a few of the garden art works scattered along trails and fields.
(39) Glenn O'Sheal 1408 Saluda Dam Road Easley SC 29640 863-238-6572	Private garden; May 1-2,8-10; call first	The 3/4 acre garden reflects Glenn's eclectic tastes: evergreen and deciduous azaleas, rhododendrons and kalmias, dwarf conifers (and a huge California redwood), and wildflowers and perennials, all tastefully arranged.

Atlanta, Georgia Area

People driving from the south and west to Asheville are going by some of the very best azalea and rhododendron gardens and nurseries in the southeastern US. A few of them are listed below. Please contact their owners to let them know when you are interested in visiting their gardens.

Earl & Verdie Sommerville 962 Old Mountain Road Marietta GA 30064 770-428-3226	Private garden; call or email first.	A large garden featuring native azaleas he has been selecting and hybridizing for over 30 years. earlsommerville@mindspring.com www.mindspring.com/~earlsommerville
Joe & Donna Coleman 7997 Pleasant Hill Road Lithonia GA 30058 770-482-1289	Private garden; call or email first.	A large garden, primarily azaleas, with many specimen Japanese maples and other ornamental trees, shrubs and wildflowers. jcoleazalea@hotmail.com
Willis & Bettie Harden 653 Harden Bridge Road Commerce GA 30529 706-335-3286	Private garden; call or email first.	A very large woodland garden with many mature species rhododendrons and native azaleas. They have another significant and more formal garden around their house.
East Fork Nursery 2769 Bethel Church Road Sevierville TN 37876 865-453-6108	Mon-Fri 8:30-4:30, or by appointment	Convention supplier; wide variety of native azaleas, evergreen azaleas, camellias, conifers, hollies, companion plants
		rtstelloh 20120331

Crowne Plaza Hotel   see map

To go to the hotel from the south or west on I-26 W/I-240 E: take the left exit 3A and bear right onto US 19/23, go 0.5 miles to a right turn at 2nd red light onto Regent Park Blvd (becomes Clayton Ave), go 0.5 miles to the Crowne Plaza Resort.

If you miss exit 3A, take exit 3B toward Westgate Pkwy, go 0.5 miles to bear left onto Westgate Pkwy (becomes Cliff St), turn right onto I-240 W, quickly turn right onto Resort Dr and go 0.2 miles to the Crowne Plaza Resort.

If you miss exit 3B, continue on I-26/I-240 across the bridge to the east, make a U-turn by taking exit 4B for Patton Ave downtown, bear right onto Patton Ave, and immediately turn left onto Haywood St for 1 block, turn right onto Clingman Ave for 1 block, turn right onto Patton Ave and take the ramp to the right onto I-240 W/Patton Ave. After crossing the bridge to the west, take the exit 3B ramp to the right toward Westgate Parkway/Resort Dr, turn right onto Resort Dr and go 0.2 miles to the Crowne Plaza Resort. If you miss that exit 3B turn, take the next right turn, onto Regent Park Blvd (becomes Clayton Ave), and go 0.5 miles to the Crowne Plaza hotel.

To go to the hotel from the east on I-240 W/Patton Ave: take the exit 3B ramp to the right toward Westgate Parkway/Resort Dr, and turn right onto Resort Dr, go 0.2 miles to the Crowne Plaza Resort. If you miss that exit 3B turn, take the next right turn, onto Regent Park Blvd (becomes Clayton Ave), and go 0.5 miles to the Crowne Plaza hotel.

To go to the hotel from the north on I-26 E/US 19/23: bear right onto I-240 W/Patton Ave, take the exit 3B ramp to the right toward Westgate Parkway/Resort Dr, turn right onto Resort Dr and go 0.2 miles to the Crowne Plaza Resort. If you miss that exit 3B turn, take the next right turn, onto Regent Park Blvd (becomes Clayton Ave), and go 0.5 miles to the Crowne Plaza hotel.

  related pages

2012 Convention (parent page)