Orchids at the WhiteGate Inn

The peak season for orchid bloom is upon us and luckily my greenhouse is full of blooming orchids. This is important because our annual orchid show at the NC Arboretum will be held March 27-29. I should have about 30 orchids in the WNCOS exhibit this year.

My collection has grown dramatically since moving over 300 orchids from my house on Lake Norman to the WhiteGate Inn Greenhouse in 2000. The greenhouse was one of the first additions to the WhiteGate Inn and was designed for orchids and other tropical plants. I have over 1000 orchids now but always seem to have room for another one.

Initially I would acquire just about anything but over the past 3 years have been concentrating on species orchids. My favorite genus is Phragmepediums and I am devoting more and more bench space to this genus. I am excited to have a Phrag. kolvachii that I acquired from HP Norton at Orchidview in bud and about to bloom for the first time. This is a rare species that was only discovered in Peru about six years ago.

I have been growing orchids for almost 22 years. My brother-in-law gave me 3 plants, I joined the NCPOS in Charlotte, and within 2 years was on the board and became interested in putting in my own exhibit in the local orchid show, which for many years was part of the Southern Spring Show.

I feel like I have come full circle this year when in mid-January I again put in an exhibit at the NCPOS Show which held their show this year for the first time at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden near Belmont NC. This was a beautiful venue for an orchid show and I was able to visit the new orchidarium at Stowe for the first time. It is an amazing design, particularly the 40 foot waterfall wall that was covered in orchids. I look forward to many return visits to this incredible botanical garden and orchidarium.

The next orchid show of the season in which I participated was the SCOS show, held in early February at the Riverbanks Botanical Garden in Columbia, SC. Again,this is a great venue for an orchid show.

I am excited to be participating in our 8th AOS sanctioned show at the NC Arboretum at the end of March. Over 40 members of the WNCOS help put this together every year and as much work as it is we always come away feeling gratified at how it always comes together and how much the public appreciates our efforts. Please enjoy the photographs of orchids that have been grown in the WhiteGate greenhouse and entered in orchid shows over the past few years.

A New Sculpture At The WhiteGate Inn

Those guests who have wondered why there was a twenty foot stump left in the garden border between the parking lot and the street can now stop wondering. There was an eighty foot white pine here that had been struck by lightning and finally died. Three years ago after buying the 1905 bungalow behind our property the pine was taken down and I requested a 20 foot section be left. I knew that at some point I would commission an artist to create a totem pole or sculpture out of the remaining stump. I did a search on the internet to see if any artists lived in the area and discovered "Mountain Dan" who lived in Etowah, about 30 miles from Asheville.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mountain Dan at the Western NC State Fair in September when I was helping my fellow Master Gardeners set-up in the flower show tent. I looked at Mountain Dan's portfolio and knew I had found the right artist. I had seen totems in Vancouver when visiting and loved the variations in animal life featured, recognizing the local native american cultures. I also realized having a killer whale and sea turtles would not make much sense in Western North Carolina. Mountain Dan said he had some ideas and made a site visit in October to discuss the possibilities. We decided to do a totem based on the Cherokee culture and the animals that have played important roles. The base of the sculpture is a large bear supporting a wolf who's tail wraps the bear's back. A terrapin sits on the wolf and the owl sits on the terrapin, and finally a majestic eagle with a six foot wingspan forms the top. The totem is carved in 360 degrees so you can appreciate it from any direction.

Mountain Dan started work in early November and finished four weeks later in early December. He built a scaffold around the tree and his early work with a chainsaw revealed a perfect specimen of white pine. He was excited to be able to create his vision on an almost perfect piece of wood.

Mountain Dan started at the top with the eagle and worked his way down. Many guests, friends, and neighbors were able to watch him work and listen to his fascinating stories. People driving by or walking would stop and watch him work. They were amazed by the detail he created, even down to the single feathers in the eagles wings. He created contrasts in color by using a torch. His final touch involved placing glass eyes of the appropriate color in various animals and signing the totem on the base. All in all it was a wonderful experience to have been involved in and I look forward to former and future guests at the WhiteGate Inn seeing this work of art.

Container Gardening at the WhiteGate Inn

Container gardening is one of my favorite aspects of gardening each year. It enables me to redecorate the garden and brings out my artistic expression using plants. I try new combinations each year in the larger containers and even change our some plants for seasonal interest. Each year I tell myself I will control this obsession but invariably by early spring the "Bug" hits and here I go. This year I counted 87 containers or hanging baskets in the garden by August 1st. Of course many containers only have a single plant and some of the large ones have as many as 10 varieties. Having a large greenhouse helps to get a jump start on the season since I can over winter many of the tropicals and foliage plants.

Rule of thumb for design is pretty simple. Use at least three plants, one spiky, one mounding, and one trailing. I have a hard time keeping it simple that so many containers will have at least 6 varieties. Use your favorites and don't worry about color clashes. Mother Nature doesn't! I am more concerned about varying shapes and textures.

I always learn by visiting my favorite arboretums and taking notes on what they use in their containers. Each year is different and there are always new plants to investigate. When in Asheville be sure to visit the NC Arboretum and the Biltmore Estate Yes, the Biltmore Estate is one of the finest arboretums in the country. You will see container gardens every where.

My favorite sources for plants are Lowe's and the Home Depot, right after the truck comes in and the plants are fresh, and BB Barnes and Jesse Israel and Sons, great nurseries. For great information on design and plant options check out Fine Gardening magazine and P. Allen Smith Garden Home.

Enjoy the pictures of my favorite containers for this year at the WhiteGate Inn. See if you can recognize my personal favorite. It contains coleus "Inky Fingers", black and chartreuse Potato Vine, Elephant Ear "Black Magic", Blue Lyme grass, Yellow Lantana, a variegated Ivy, and a miniature Japanese Maple 'Red Pixie'. If you have any questions about other plant materials post your questions, with your e-mail, and I will happily respond.

Art In Bloom at the WhiteGate Inn

I was pleased to have participated in the 2nd. annual Art in Bloom event at the Center for the Arts in Black Mountain. Black Mountain is a small community 13 miles from Asheville. Art in Bloom is an event held in a myriad of museums, galleries and other arts locations across the United States. The concept is for floral designers to interpret selected pieces of art work so that a new form of art interpretation is created for a short-lived show. The show is a fundraiser for the non-profit Arts Center. Honorary Chair for this year's event was Becky Anderson, founder of Handmade in America. Handmade in America had it's office across the street from the WhiteGate Inn so I got to know Becky and her staff who would come over and enjoy the WhiteGate Gardens and greenhouse.

Even though I am not trained as a floral designer I was pleased to be picked along with 22 other designers to select a piece of art to create a floral design. I visited the Arts Center three weeks before the show and picked my first, second, and third choices.

I was fortunate to get my first choice, The Guardian by Ken Sedberry. Ken Sedberry trained at the Penland School of Craft and is a co-founder of Ariel Gallery in Asheville, a local art co-op, where I have seen various renditions of The Guardian. I had seen this piece before in Asheville and was drawn to it. It has a wonderful shape and the textures and colors offered many possibilities. The piece is 44 inches tall and 10 inches wide. I took photographs and a plan for the design evolved as I looked at materials available in the WhiteGate gardens, ponds and greenhouse.

The morning of the installation I left the WhiteGate staff preparing breakfast for our guests and spent about an hour gathering and conditioning the plant and floral materials. The vertical elements of the design were a beautiful egyptian papyrus from the pond, giant horsetail, and verbena bonariensis. All were 3-5 feet tall. At the 2-3 foot level I had a group of striking red amaranthus, blue pickeral from the pond, and blue lyme grass. The lowest level had grayish castor bean leaves and bright orange/red canna leaves, variety 'Tropicana'. The focal point front and center were 3 large 6-7 inch cattleya orchid blooms, a species called Brassovola digbyana. These blooms were at their perfection since they had opened only 2 days before. I had the perfect container, a large tapering square with great texture and color to match the base color of the artwork. Everything was packed carefully and off to the Center to complete the installation. It took about an hour and a half to complete. I had fun talking to and watching other designers perform their magic but was somewhat intimidated when I realized the person working next to me is the head floral designer at the Biltmore Estate!

The weekend kicked off with a preview party Thursday night at the Center. The energy in the galleries was awesome as the artists, designers, and art patrons mingled and enjoyed great food, wine, and entertainment. I was more than pleased to hear all the wonderful comments on my arrangement and particularly enjoyed talking about the orchids which had not been seen by anyone before. One patron kept referring to them as the "hairy orchids" because of the hairy nature of the large lip.



I was amazed at the talent displayed and the creativity of the designers who did such a fantastic job correlating their work with the art. As the evening wound down I found myself already look forward to next year and the next challenge.

Roses at the WhiteGate Inn

Roses always seem to reach peak bloom at Mother's Day here in Asheville. The featured rose today is the Knockout Rose, single pink flowered variety in the photograph.



This bush is in our side garden next to the stream. I had read about this new variety 4 years ago and planted this one as soon as I saw one in a nursery.
It has become my favorite rose because it truly does not get diseases and does not seem to attract pests, even the japanese beetle. It will bloom periodically from now to frost. The second year of the Knockout series brought a red, white, and double petaled red. I now have 3 of the double reds and they look a lot like the typical hybrid tea roses. Good for cutting as well. Last year brought a new variety that is pink with a yellow center. I will definitely find a place for this one in the garden.

I have also planted 4 of the pink varieties at the Asheville Community Theater in a garden that I maintain for the Asheville Men's Garden Club. These bushes received no extra water last season and grew and bloomed very well. Most roses need a lot of water to perform well but the Knockout series seems to adapt well to minimal water. I have planted my knockouts in the perennial borders and no longer have a specific "rose garden". Nine years ago I had a rose garden with about 16 hybrid tea roses but gradually lost these over the years to disease and neglect. Hybrid teas require a lot of spraying with fungicide and past wet seasons required spraying almost every 3 days to prevent leaf drop. Also a lot of water and fertilizer are needed for hybrid teas. The one surviving rose in this area is a David Austin yellow variety in full bloom now. It is a vigorous climber and is growing up into a Little Gem magnolia, now starting to bloom with fragrant white magnolia blooms. Our 1905 Bungalow under restoration shows in the background. Renovations should be completed by late summer.

I am also starting to grow more antique and heritage roses in the WhiteGate gardens. They are very hardy, resistant to disease, and once established need less water. Frank and I had a great field trip last Saturday to Ashdown Roses in Campobello, SC. They were having their annual rose festival and had a number of other plant vendors selling as well. I enjoyed listening to a series of lectures related to roses and perennials. I did come away with 4 rose bushes, 1 climber and 3 shrub varieties, all antique varieties. Now I just have to figure out where they will go in the garden! I will also be planting 2 of my favorite climbers, "Don Juan", a great red and "New Dawn" a soft pink, as soon as I find nice specimans locally. They will go in next to our handicapped parking spot and will be trained to grow along the railing.

The last rose I wanted to talk about is a great climber called "Fourth of July" that I have planted along a fence next to the WhiteGate carriage house. The picture shows it in full bloom. What a great color splash as noted by the individual flower. It has been in the ground 4 years and has covered about 10 feet of fence and is rambling through a viburnum.

Roses make a great addition to any garden and with the endless choices of easy care roses they should be used anywhere you have the space and enough sun.

1889 WhiteGate Inn Spring Garden Tour

I was excited to have the 1889 WhiteGate Inn gardens featured on the American Horticultural Society tour which was held in Asheville, NC April 23-27. These gardeners were from all over the country including CA, NY, FL and states in the Northeast and Midwest. 37 were in the group. The gardens were in full spring bloom and many orchids were blooming in the greenhouse. I knew the group would challenge my memory so I had a plant list available to refer to the more unusual cultivars.

Most of the group asked about the Kwanzan cherry tree that was in full bloom as well the native redbud.


Most of the Japanese maples were leafing out as well. The shade garden featured a number of ephemerals in full bloom. The sidewalk was lined with yellow wood poppies in full bloom and the snowball hydrangea was covered in white snowball shaped blooms.

The most spectacular show was presented by our Lady Banksia climbing roses in full bloom over the front arbor greeting visitors as they arrived. You can see the bright yellow display from a block away. I enjoyed showing visitors the new plantings around our new Carriage House behind the main Inn. The Japanese Umbrella pine and the Metasequoia Ogon, a yellow variety, captured their attention.

The group left after more than an hour for the Richmond Hill Inn gardens and another private garden. Over the next few days they visited the NC Arboretum, the Biltmore House, and other private gardens. Time was available to enjoy the great city of Asheville and its many galleries and outstanding restaurants. The group visited the last garden, John Cram's wonderfull 11 acre lakeside garden full of interesting sculpture and unusual plants, where my partner Frank and I were invited to a luncheon. The AHS presented us with a wonderful framed print of the AHS headquarters and were given a membership in the AHS for our help in providing an educational experience for the group. Pictures will be posted soon.

It is nearing time for the Annual Orchid show