Hendersonville NC Arboretum, Gardens & Horticultural Education Center
Dear Friends of Bullington,
I never got to meet Bob Bullington, but his persona still looms large here so many years after he died. That was 30 years ago this past fall. At the time his friend Ted Richardson worked hard to find the best way for Bob’s nursery to become a horticultural education center. It took time, but in the fall of 1990 the Bullington Horticultural Learning Center was born.
The early years of the Center were full of fits and starts and when I arrived in 1999, it looked like the fits had won. Resources were severely lacking and interest was waning that the place would ever become anything. But slowly over the years, small numbers of volunteers came in to help beat back the overgrowth, a few folks wanted to donate funds and teachers expressed interest in programs for their students. Every year since then the momentum has built.
And on the eve of our 30th anniversary, I look back with both marvel and wonder on how it all came together. There were of course instrumental people who saw past the mess, envisioned a brighter future and did what they could to help move it forward.
Now in 2019, almost every day there are people roaming the gardens, or students and adults engaged in some educational program or volunteers busily preparing for the next event. We have come a long way.
In 2020 we plan to celebrate our 30th anniversary and revel in the progress made over that span. Save the date for June 20th for a festive event we’re planning in the garden with food and drink, music, an auction and the usual good Bullington comradery. More information will be coming soon.
But 2020 will also be a year of reaching for more goals that will include increasing our Friends of Bullington base, updating a Master Plan for the property, improving accessibility in the gardens, making renovations to the Bullington house and widening our horticultural therapy service. We’ll continue to offer varied programs for students and adults in the community and make the gardens an attractive place to visit.
I thank you for your part in the blossoming of Bullington Gardens over the years and hope you’ll join in the celebration to come.
John
