Meet Me in the Garden

When the first Saturday in May arrives after winter’s chill and spring’s rain, Hibriten Garden Club members will team up to present the best of gardening passions in Lenoir. Tour proceeds will benefit refurbishment of the city of Lenoir's Triangle Park at 500 Highland Avenue SW.

Savor the beauty of some of Lenoir's loveliest neighborhood gardens while taking in a feast of landscaping ideas. The art of gardening will be on display at the homes of six generous neighbors in the area around the park.

"Meet Me in the Garden" will create a beautiful ambiance — a reflection of life, hobbies and personal passions in the gardens of friends and neighbors:

• Watch talented local artists painting in the gardens
• Hear live music performed by local musicians
• Have a sip and a bite of free refreshments at the welcome tent in the Triangle Park
• Browse the variety of art works, cut flowers and plants for sale.

A. Bringing the Outdoors In
These homeowners have lovingly packed their landscape with colorful shrubs, annuals and perennials. This garden features a charming working artist's studio and large entertainment area.

B. Terraced Terrain Garden
Cross into the front garden through a curving stone wall and descend flagstone steps to a surprising presentation of six waterfalls and seven ponds. The owners reclaimed this garden from the chaos of overgrown English ivy and bamboo. The hillside garden features hostas, dogwoods, azaleas and rhododendron. A winding path reveals a surprise entertainment area with fireplace and arbor.

C. Everything's Coming up Roses
Enter this garden through an ornate iron gate, passing through an allee of rhododendrons and crape myrtle. Everthing's coming up flowers in this garden, featuring a Williamsburg-inspired garden house. A heart-shaped focal point for peonies, annuals and vegetables accents a welcome terrace for entertaining.

D. Sublime Nature Walk
An acre of land provides the canvas for this historic Lenoir estate, featuring 100-year-old boxwoods, as well as azaleas and exotic plants. A welcoming pavilion and garden created on a former parking lot is perfect for entertaining and relaxing. A path leads to an oval garden filled with shade-loving plants. Visitors may listen for the sound of the waterfall among the peonies, hellebores and irises.

E. Woodland Vista Gardens
This garden's owners reclaimed their woodland vista, eliminating English ivy to open up a haven for wildlife. They built a hilltop pollinator garden, convenient kitchen garden out the back steps, plus a relaxing shade garden by the patio. A bank of colorful roses borders the front facade of the Georgian-style home.

F. Gardening Unplugged
Pine trees felled by a lightning storm opened up a large back yard filled with light. The owners began anew, bringing in stones and creating a garden space of roses, azaleas and perennials. The inviting conversation pit with fireplace is perfect for entertaining guests or just drinking in the sunshine.

The Triangle Park draws people from all over Caldwell County to enjoy the outdoors with a pickup game of baseball, a romp with their dog or just watching the stars. However, in recent years it has fallen into disarray and could benefit from refurbishment.

"Meet me in the Garden" has created enthusiasm and energy for a working project that led us into fulfilling our objective, which is to “stimulate interest in and knowledge of flower gardens and to promote the home and civic improvement of grounds within the community.” (Hibriten Garden Club Constitution, Article II – Objective)

We encourage you to fulfill your passion and enjoy these gardens!

In 1948, Our founding mothers knew that the roles of women in community would change, as they had throughout history. As WWII ended, the Hibriten Garden Club story was evolving. We really began in Marion, VA, where Riley Thomas Greer had established a roots and herbs business in 1903, which he named Greer Drug Company. When Mr. Greer’s daughter Elizabeth married Edgar Dobbin and moved to Lenoir, he moved here to be near her, and built a home on Rectory Hill.

Edgar and Elizabeth Dobbin’s daughter Lib married William White at the close of WWII and together they joined R.T. Greer at Greer Drug in Lenoir, eventually buying the business and transitioning to the manufacture of sterile, injectable allergenic extracts to test and treat allergy patients, both human and veterinary.

Meanwhile, Edgar Dobbin’s business partner at City Flour & Feed Company in Lenoir was Gamewell Charles McGimsey. Mr. McGimsey’s wife ,Bertha, and Elizabeth Dobbin were best friends. Together, these two enterprising women conceptualized and established a garden club, engaging their like-minded friends at a time when flowers must have seemed more optimistic than the necessary war-time Victory Gardens.

We have no record(s) of exactly why we were named Hibriten Garden Club, but the mountain is as much a part of our community now as it was at its charter formation in 1948. Our thanks to Liza Plaster and Waitsel Smith, whose family histories and photographs are our earliest known documentation.

It’s no secret that Hibriten, Beloved Mountain, has been a symbol of nature’s majesty in Lenoir and Caldwell County for hundreds of years. At an elevation of 2,265 feet, residents know they are home when they catch a glimpse of the mountain, whether returning from a long journey or just a day trip.

With native trees, and an abundance of wildflowers and shrubs, the mountain is ablaze with color in the fall. Many years ago, huge flocks of turkeys roosted in the trees and were sustenance for American Indians and pioneers who hunted and feasted on them.

On the side of the mountain is a cave, said to have been excavated by men searching for gold in the late 1700s. During the Civil War, this cave served as a hideout from Stoneman’s Raiders when they swept through Lenoir in 1865. Over the years, families have used the mountain for camping and decades ago, a pavilion was built for dancing and entertainment.

Artists paint Hibriten in all seasons and poets rhyme tributes to the mountain. With streets, businesses and military regiments reflecting the name of the mountain in 1948 and with an obvious abundance of flora and fauna on continuous display, is it any wonder that the founding mothers of Hibriten Garden Club chose this name for their newly formed alliance?

Ticket holder assumes all risks and hereby releases Hibriten Garden Club and its membership, the homeowners and volunteers from all liabilities, costs and expenses arising from injuries, death or damages incurred in connection with the Hibriten Garden Club "Meet Me in the Garden" walking tour, and Triangle Park, owned by the city of Lenoir and located at 500 Highland Ave. SW, Lenoir.

Animals and smoking are prohibited within Triangle Park and all tour gardens.

All sales are final. No refunds on any tickets under any circumstances. All unused tickets will be considered a contribution to Hibriten Garden Club, which is a non-profit organization. We are not tax exempt; therefore, we cannot offer a tax deduction.

Host or Publisher Hibriten Garden Club