David George Haskell
One of the Plateau’s most beloved free treasures – the Highlands Botanical Gardens – takes center stage this September, as the Highlands Biological Station hosts its biennial Native Plant Celebration, “Diversity & Discovery,” on Friday and Saturday, September 11 and 12.
Friday is a gift to the whole community, free and open to all, with no registration required. From noon to 5:00 P.M., a native‑plant sale offers species suited to Southern Appalachian gardens, with staff ready to help load purchases, and hour‑long garden tours set off at 10:00 A.M., noon, 2:00 P.M., and 4:00 P.M. through the garden’s living collection of native flora.
Saturday brings a ticketed, day‑long symposium at the Highlands Community Building, where three notable speakers consider the natural world through science, design and art.
Preston Montague
Doors open at 9:00 A.M. Dr. Alan Weakley, director of the UNC Herbarium, opens the talks at 9:45 A.M.; landscape architect and artist Preston Montague, who designed North Carolina’s Venus flytrap license plate, speaks at 1:00 P.M.; and acclaimed writer and biologist David George Haskell – a two‑time Pulitzer finalist – gives the 3:15 P.M. keynote, followed by a book signing. Between the talks, short presentations highlight the garden’s research and coming projects, and an “Ask the Experts” panel fields practical questions on landscaping and gardening with native plants at home.
The weekend is also a fundraiser for the gardens that anchor it. The day closes from 4:30 to 6:00 P.M. with a reception and a live auction of rare and special plants – auctioneer Adam Bigelow presiding – with proceeds supporting the botanical gardens, which remain free and open to the public year‑round.
“This celebration is a rallying point for those of us who have embraced naturalistic landscape design,” said Canty Worley, the station’s horticultural specialist. “Our historic gardens are a precious refuge for a way of life under constant threat from development and degradation of the land.”
Dr. Alan Weakley
“There is no better place to learn just how botanically special this plateau is,” added Dr. James T. Costa, the station’s executive director, who notes that the naturalist William Bartram described the area’s “charming circle of mountain vegetable beauties” more than two centuries ago.
Registration for Saturday’s symposium is open at highlandsbiological.org.
The Highlands Biological Station is an interinstitutional center of Western Carolina University dedicated to research, education and conservation in the southern Blue Ridge. Its campus includes the Highlands Botanical Garden and the Highlands Nature Center. Founded in 1927, it approaches its centennial in 2027.
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