The Garden of Peter and Jasmin Gentling

Day 2 of the garden tours (Saturday) on the Asheville Garden Bloggers Fling took us way up the mountain to the lush, verdant garden of Peter and Jasmin Gentling. The drive up was not for the faint of heart. Michael, who has a fear of heights, kept his sunglasses on and head averted to avoid glancing at the deep ravines and valleys on the way up. 

All of the gardens on our tour were fascinating in their own unique way. This one was my personal favorite. 

The garden is composed of a series of terraces on a steep hillside. This wall is about 5 feet high.

That is a dwarf hemlock on the right - I didn't know there was such a thing.

Strong legs required for this garden!

One highlight of the trip was discovering new bloggers. Ira Wallace (strolling above) blogs for Mother Earth News and is an expert on vegetable gardening in the Southeast. A fascinating woman!

That is Pam Penick in front whose popular blog Digging was one of the first gardening blogs I read and influenced me to start blogging. 

Busy, busy  bloggers

Peter Gentling is a master at combing textures

I don't know the kitty's name but he/she was after something and after seeing a bouncing gray object, I realized that it was a rabbit. The rabbit escaped unharmed!

Poppies, lilies and allium

A great place for contemplation

 

 

The Gentling garden is open by appointment. For more great gardens in the Asheville area (both private and public) visit Explore Asheville.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy