Swallowtail Gardens

I visited Swallowtail Gardens last weekend, a wonderful garden and small nursery in the mountains of Western North Carolina.  I've only had time to post a couple of photos previously, and was foiled in posting later last week when Blogger was down.

But here's a better sampling. 

It's a delightful garden, reflecting the gardeners who live there. It's full of treasures.

If you have a chance to visit (by appointment), it's SO worth the drive up to a cove in the North Carolina mountains past Mars Hill.  And seek out their plants at regional venues in the spring (see their website for details).

A grassy entrance path

A typical eclectic mix of plants

Dwarf conifers are woven throughout the garden.

Looking back towards the old tobacco barn

Woodland garden plantings towards the house

Rock work through the garden is full of plants tucked in crevices.

Or spilling over edges.

Much of the rock came from the site, with some judicious additions.

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An exceptional garden

old tobacco barn at Swallowtail Gardens

Gardens always reflect the gardeners who create and tend them, in my experience.

Creating a garden (distinctly different from keeping up your yard) is a personal experience, from plant choices to garden style.

The gardener at Swallowtail Gardens (Edmund Taylor) is an exceptional plantsman, plant collector, and garden designer.  A semi-retired former SC extension agent, he's created an extraordinary garden full of choice Asian woodland plants and Eastern woodland natives.

The group that visited on a recent Garden-supported field trip was totally impressed with the lovely expanse of garden that he shared with us.  More photos will come!

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