Flat Rock's Destination Gardens
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During the pandemic, the gardens at Flat Rock Playhouse have been increasingly discovered by residents and visitors seeking a tranquil outdoor refuge. With over 60 garden beds on the Playhouse campus, the gardens afford visitors the chance to get out of the house while avoiding the concerns of confined spaces and crowded venues.
The Playhouse Main Stage may be closed temporarily, but the outdoor scenery is in full production with an all-star cast of flowering plants, shrubs, and trees putting on a spectacular performance seven days a week.
The Playhouse gardens are maintained by The Flat Rock Playhouse Garden Volunteers. Tamsin Allpress organizes the group’s efforts and she is seeing a lot more visitors this year who’ve come to appreciate the beauty of the spacious Playhouse grounds. “The Playhouse is closed, but the gardens have been very active and they have grown like crazy this year,” says Tamsin.
The ever-expanding Playhouse Gardens have become a go-to venue for both the Garden Volunteers and a growing number of visitors who come to appreciate the natural beauty and professional design of the gardens that dot the Playhouse campus. “It's been a great way for the gardeners to get out and exercise,” says Tamsin. “We've really enjoyed maintaining and increasing the gardens, and then promoting them as a destination unto itself this year.”
On the day we visited, a group of friends from First Methodist Church of Hendersonville sat socially distanced in the gardens. “We are friends from church and we get together to do social outings and have a good time together. This is our first time at the gardens to sit, chat, and have coffee. We will definitely come back!”
Tamsin says groups like the women from the church are an increasingly common sight. “People are coming for picnics. They're coming just to walk around.”
“We put up three donation boxes to allow visitors to help us defray the costs of maintaining the gardens. The boxes have only been up a few weeks and just from what we've received so far, people really are appreciating the gardens!”
The Garden Volunteers installed QR tags in each of the 60 garden beds this year. The QR Readers allow visitors to easily learn about the specific plants in each garden bed. “We don't want lots of labels ruining the gardens, so we just have one tag per bed. When you put your QR reader on the tag, it opens up descriptions of the plants that are in that bed.”
As the number and the quality of the garden beds continue to grow, so does the amount of time and the cost of maintaining the gardens. For those inclined to help out the Garden Volunteers, there are several ways to help. “We'd always love to have more volunteers,” explains Tamsin. Contributions via the Donation Boxes or directly to volunteers are always appreciated.
In addition, The Flat Rock Playhouse Garden Volunteers will be holding their Annual Plant Sale at the Playhouse on September 18th and 19th. The sale is an important source of funds for volunteers.
Be sure to save the dates and visit the sale to find the perfect plant for your home and garden.
Make plans to stop by the Playhouse Gardens soon. You will be amazed at the variety and beauty of the gardens and we can confidently say that will be a brava performance every time you visit.
