Dr. John Wilson Community Garden to host ‘Flowers Everywhere’ party

Fundraiser celebrates resilience ahead of Helene anniversary

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
Sept. 4, 2025

Dr. John Wilson Community Garden manager Leonora Stefanile and a team of volunteers and interns will celebrate renewal and resilience, Sept. 6, when the Black Mountain program hosts its Flowers Everywhere: Garden Party Fundraiser. Photo by Fred McCormick

Sitting atop the banks of the Swannanoa River, the Dr. John Wilson Community Garden was one of many local institutions facing uncertainty last year, as Tropical Storm Helene devastated the region. In its 20th year, the fertile patch of land, owned and managed by the Town of Black Mountain, dutifully preserved.

As manager Leonora Stefanile, interns and the volunteer-led Friends of the Community Gardens Black Mountain host the Flowers Everywhere: Garden Party Fundraiser, from 4 p.m. - 7 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 7, the occasion will celebrate resilience, renewal and success.

The garden, named after its founder and longtime Black Mountain resident who passed away in 2016, was donating more than 6,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables to local nonprofit organization Bounty & Soul before flooding from the natural disaster submerged around half of the plots reserved for the effort. The remaining plots, utilized by area residents, remained largely intact.

The theme of the community garden’s annual fundraiser reflects the program’s unwavering commitment to its mission.

“‘Flowers Everywhere’ comes from the response to the flood,” a release announcing the event stated. “When half of the Growing for Donation beds flooded, the garden moved forward with a renewed vision, transforming the washed out space into a blooming field of flowers.”

The celebration will include live music from Becki Janes and the Farm to Jazz Trio, dinner catered by local eateries and community gardeners, a tour of the nearby pollinator garden, led by Emily Sampson of Patchwork Meadows and a medicinal tea tasting station, hosted by garden intern Marisa Figueroa. Local herbalist Cindi Quay will lead a “pick your own bouquet” activity, exploring the use of flowers as a soil remediation tool.

Tickets for the event are $40 in advance and $50 at the door, while student, including those attending college or graduate school, and needs-based pricing is $25, and available at bmtcommunitygardens.org until 5 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 6.

“The fundraiser also hopes to bring love and energy to that flooded ground in the community garden, demonstrating that resiliency is only possible through community,” organizers said.

The goal of the gathering is to raise $25,000, while the first $10,000 will be matched, due to contributions from local organizations.

The Dr. John Wilson Community Garden has long been vital resource in the fight against food insecurity in the Swannanoa Valley, providing food for hundreds of local families through its Rental Plot Program and its Growing For Donation Program.

The Rental Plot Program serves over 100 local gardeners who, in exchange for a small fee, can access a garden bed in the community garden to grow their own produce. Each year, residents and volunteers come together in the Growing for Donation Program to grow fresh produce that is distributed to families in need through distribution partner, Bounty & Soul.

The garden’s education program features local experts who teach the public about gardening, food, cooking, wellness and conservation. The program relies heavily on the work of interns to assist in the growing process and to educate the public on sustainable growing techniques.

The Flowers Everywhere fundraiser serves as one of the best opportunities for the community to come together and learn about the purpose of the garden, while allowing the community to support it, according to organizers.

Located on the southern end of Veterans Park, at 99 White Pine Drive, the garden operates under the supervision of the Town of Black Mountain Recreation and Parks Department and is supported by the Friends of the Community Gardens, a volunteer organization that assists with fundraising.

The money raised during the upcoming event will support the garden’s interns, who have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of organic growing techniques and long-term sustainable practices while providing essential maintenance for the garden. 

The funds will also support the purchase of tools, seeds, plants and other infrastructure the community garden requires. Additional funds will be placed in a seed money fund that will eventually cover the installation of a new building on the garden property. Plans for the structure include an indoor classroom, kitchen, seed library and full-time garden manager office.