Black Mountain Beautification Committee hosts 14th annual Garden Show and Sale

HIP TO BE SQUARE: Black Mountain Beautification Committee volunteers pause during a workday that co-chair Lyndall Noyes-Brownell calls a "springtime mulch party" at Black Mountain's Town Square. This weekend, the nonprofit hosts its annual Garden Show and Sale fundraiser at The Monte Vista Hotel. Photo by Hagen McDonell

One of the most striking visual qualities about the town of Black Mountain — charming architecture and impressive mountain views aside — is its profusion of colorful and carefully maintained gardens. From the vivid seasonal plantings at the welcome signs on U.S. 70 to the beautifully manicured flower and foliage displays at Town Square, Black Mountain is home to 20 public garden sites and 42 container gardens established and cared for by the Black Mountain Beautification Committee.

The all-volunteer-run nonprofit will host its 14th annual Garden Show and Sale, the group’s largest fundraiser, Friday and Saturday, May 17-18. Proceeds from the sale support the committee’s yearly Seed Grant Award, which finances garden-related projects within Black Mountain that add “a little something extra to our town,” says committee co-chair and sale coordinator Lyndall Noyes-Brownell. “Other money generated by the garden sale helps to fund our various projects throughout town, including the garden sites, containers, mulching and holiday decorations.”

Previously confined only to Saturday, this year’s sale, which takes place on the grounds of the historic Monte Vista Hotel, will include a Friday afternoon and evening component with a garden party setting. “It will be the place to meet up with family and friends,” says Noyes-Brownell, noting that wine, beer, soda and snacks will be available.

On both Friday and Saturday, the plant sale will feature 20 garden-focused vendors offering annuals, perennials, fruit trees, shrubs and trees. There will also be raffle drawings both days.

On Saturday, the committee presents its popular Clothes Line Sale, where members and friends of the organization offer personal services for a fee, such as weeding, dinner-party hosting, closet organizing and custom landscape painting (the descriptions of which are, yes, clipped to a clothesline). Noyes-Brownell urges attendees to arrive early, as the services tend to sell out quickly.

On Saturday, the event will also host a recycling service for those pesky plastic planting containers, which tend to pile up so quickly in the spring — a drop-off site will be open in the back parking lot of the Black Mountain Library. Additionally, volunteers from the Buncombe County Master Gardeners will be available to answer gardening questions, and The Monte Vista Hotel will offer a lunch special for those who decide to make a day of it.

Noyes-Brownell notes that although the sale is celebrating its 14th year, the committee itself is set to mark its 20th anniversary in 2020. For her and many other members, she says, the best part about volunteering with the committee and the sale is the people. “We have such a great community that comes out and supports the garden sale,” she says. “It’s a great time to catch up with them.”

WHAT: Black Mountain Beautification Committee Garden Show and Sale
WHERE: The Monte Vista Hotel, 308 W. State St., Black Mountain. blackmountainbeautification.org
WHEN: Friday, May 17, 4-8 p.m. and Saturday, May 18, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Free

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