Last year in May I did to an epic trip through the Appalachian Mountains to North Carolina. I haven’t properly documented this anywhere yet, so I thought I would take the opportunity to do so.
My main impetus for going there was to see Plant Delights nursery and a horticultural friend of mine Ben Pick - who had recently bought a house and some land near Asheville and wanted to make something of it; possibly a combination of a garden and nursery with some agricultural activities. These were the seeds of reasons for going and then more and more good reasons converged - Will Hembree a former Interchange Fellow the American equivalent of me (who goes to the UK to work in different gardens for 9 months), was down there doing an interesting graduate programme in plant breeding, a scenic drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway, a good time of year for wildflowers - Virginia and North Carolina is the heart of the US Piedmont flora that I have strongly admired at the native plant garden Mt Cuba Center…
My main impetus for going there was to see Plant Delights nursery and a horticultural friend of mine Ben Pick - who had recently bought a house and some land near Asheville and wanted to make something of it; possibly a combination of a garden and nursery with some agricultural activities. These were the seeds of reasons for going and then more and more good reasons converged - Will Hembree a former Interchange Fellow the American equivalent of me (who goes to the UK to work in different gardens for 9 months), was down there doing an interesting graduate programme in plant breeding, a scenic drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway, a good time of year for wildflowers - Virginia and North Carolina is the heart of the US Piedmont flora that I have strongly admired at the native plant garden Mt Cuba Center…