Cleveland County Arts Council to host garden, outdoor living tour
Art in its outdoor, organic form will be on display for the Cleveland County Arts Council's 2022 Garden and Outdoor Living Tour.
The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 4.
The self-guided tour will include seven outdoor living spaces and outside “artistry.”
The locations on the tour include:
Pine Hall, Andrea Potts
224 Fairway Drive, Shelby
Andrea and Patrick Potts bought Pine Hall in June 2016.
Earl and Montrose Mechum built Pine Hall in 1973. Many of the home's features were salvaged from historical homes across North Carolina, including the log cabin now named the Love Shack in honor of the second stewards, Frank and Virginia Love.
The gardens at Pine Hall are of a traditional southern garden with hundreds of plant varieties, including boxwood, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, gardenia, laurels, azaleas, roses, foxgloves, hollyhocks, irises, hostas and more. The gardens at Pine Hall are dedicated to the memory of Patrick Potts, who, with his wife, had the vision to restore this home and gardens.
Jim and Pat Parr
1322 Vista Drive, Shelby
Thirteen years ago, Jim and Pat Parr moved from the Shawangunk Mountains in New York to Shelby. There soon were a number of issues that needed attention on the property: invasive plants, water flooding, too much lawn, lack of plant diversity, not enough birds and insects.
The couple first studied fauna and flora, then for 10 years they have worked to create a sustainable native habitat. The property is now a Certified Native Plant Habitat. They added trees, shrubs, a butterfly pollinator garden, vegetable and herb garden, shade garden and perennial flower beds throughout the property.
Phil and Sandie Dee
400 Woodhaven Lane, Kings Mountain
Phil and Sandie Dee purchased their farm and home in Kings Mountain in 2008. Sandy knew immediately she wanted to find a way to work with Mother Nature. After growing vegetables and herbs for the market for many years, she stumbled into growing flowers in 2018.
They also grow blueberries, herbs and raise laying hens for eggs. Phil and Sandie’s home and farm feel miles away from Cleveland County.
Sandie’s bouquets will be available for purchase with a $20 donation to the Arts Council.
Dr. Kevin and Rhonda James
143 Lakemont Drive, Shelby
The James backyard is also a garden that has been planned (and planted) for more than 25 years. Moss Lake is the backdrop to the wheelchair accessible gardens. The outdoor fireplace, water feature, personal putting green, and lots of blooms and plants give something for every season.
Matt and Lauren Borders
2908 Hollis Road, Polkville
The Borders describe their property as a pastoral setting with the main focus of plant material being a collection of trees, arboretum like in nature. The drive in through native dry white oak / hickory forest opens up to grassland surrounded by managed pine wood forest. The South Mountains game lands dominate the view looking out across a hay field over a small food crop garden and Dutch style wood barn with Hinton Creek forming the northern border of the property.
Mowed upper and lower loops create walking paths to view the trees planted along the edges of the hay field.
Slightly Different Nursery, Paul Owen
2810 Hollis Road, Polkville
In 2005 multi-award winning daylily hybridizer Paul Owen re-located from Pennsylvania to Polkville and found a "slightly different" spot to hybridize/showcase thousands of daylilies. The nursery he has created will be open for visitors on the tour.
As part of the tour, Owen has registered a new, one-of-a-kind daylily cultivar to offer as a gift for anyone who contributes $100 or more to the Arts Council by June 4.
"Happy Little Accidents" is a new 2022 daylily created especially for the Cleveland County Arts Council's effort to keep the arts alive (and well!) in our County. Each bloom scape has up to 20 blooms, so established clumps easily bloom for a long time. These plants will be available to a limited number of guests who should reserve them.
Paradise Garden Center
460 Cherryville Road, Shelby
Paradise Garden Center, a sponsor of the event, invites shoppers to stop in to see their selection of indoor, outdoor, annual and perennial plants, many grown on site.
There will also be wood fired pizza from their outdoor kitchen from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Want to go?
Tickets may be purchased for $20 from the Arts Council, 111 S. Washington St., Shelby, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. They're also available online at ccartscouncil.org. They can also be purchased at the individual homes the day of the event by cash or check only.
This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Cleveland County Arts Council to host garden, outdoor living tour
