The Martha H. Ashe Garden

When the Martha H. Ashe Garden was dedicated in the summer of 2010, it was already over 60 years old. Originally designed by the Joe N. Howell Landscape Nursery as a garden showcase highlighting the many plants found in the 16-acre nursery, the Martha H. Ashe Garden was revived in the summer of 2007 with a redesign by KBGA staff. The project tread lightly on the existing plant material and bed design, mostly removing subpar or overgrown plant material and filling empty spaces with appropriate plants. This rebirth of the garden was made possible by a generous gift from the Ashe family, in memory of Mayor and Ambassador Ashe’s mother, Martha.

Stone Roundhouses flank the entrance, like two sentinels guarding the way. The path between them goes through Japanese cypress, hostas and ferns. At a doorway through a ten-foot stone wall, one of Howell’s many millstones anchors the path. Choose left or right; both are peaceful strolls through hydrangeas, azaleas, irises, crepe myrtle and huge, exotic evergreens. Some of the plant species are of “garden origin,” created during the nursery’s 200-year history. This garden includes stately exotics, “nursery origin” species like witch hazel and lilac, and native plants. In addition to the plants, one can find sparrows scratching through the mulch and blue jays flashing through the trees. Look for our Atlas cedar that’s been well drilled in neat rows by yellow-bellied sapsuckers.

The southwest lawn, one of our most popular wedding venues, includes the Ford Family Azalea collection. This collection was made possible by a generous gift from Anna Ford.

Through the wall in the back, one finds the Stone Greenhouse, as well as the home of Native Plant Rescue Squad, which rescues plants about to be destroyed by building or development across Knoxville and the East Tennessee region. The plants come here to mature and be sold, which helps native plants spread in East Tennessee. We’re honored to be able to host this organization that does such good work.

Martha Ashe was president of the Knoxville Garden Club and the Jupiter Island Garden Club, Florida and was southern zone chair of the Garden Club of America while being a lifelong advocate of gardens. She was the first woman to be elected to serve in the State Senate from Knox County in 1974 and also the first Republican woman to serve in the Tennessee State Senate.

Thank you to Cindy Moffett for her work so wonderfully capturing our garden spaces in words.