The White Gate Inn

As the Planner Man for Asheville Fling 2012 one of the duties I have been shouldered with is visiting some of the gardens before hand to meet with the owners and take a few pictures for advance promo. Tough job, but somebody has got to do it.



I visited a garden in Asheville yesterday that is only a short two block walk from the downtown hotel. It is so close, instead of being a scheduled part of the itinerary, this garden will be open for the whole Fling as a quiet getaway for the bloggers from the larger group.



Talk about the generous spirit of gardeners. Not only are the owners of the White Gate Inn and Cottage allowing an open house of the garden for the entire Fling, they are one of the major sponsors helping to cover the cost of our buses.



And if that wasn't enough, the garden itself is incredible.



This is a collector's garden with a connoisseur's eye.



There was much for me to see



In a garden filled with color and texture before the flowers have even gotten a good start.



There were a large number of specimen trees, shrubs and conifers



Giving the garden strong winter interest which we all know by now is something I am determined my own garden will have.



This is a short variegated bamboo. I bet it's a runner though. I am afraid of running bamboo.



There were small fountains through out and many sculptures to add to the experience of this garden.



I got the two wild Dicentra. Might as well get the really showy one. Oops one of them followed me home this afternoon.



If you should find yourself coming to Asheville for a visit



And have a touch of the gardening addiction



The eleven room White Gate Inn bed and breakfast is within walking distance of all of downtown Asheville and is certainly worth checking out as a place to stay.



If your just a gardener out on a walk, the fence is short and large parts of the garden are visible from the sidewalk. Wouldn't it be nice if entire neighborhood blocks were filled with gardens like this.