The Tryon Garden Club recently received two Kirby Tryon Garden Club grants from the Polk County Community Foundation (PCCF) in support of community beautification and trail maintenance of Pearson’s Falls.

For many years, the Garden Club has maintained the Tryon Depot Garden.  Through the Kirby Tryon Garden Club Special Projects Fund and Polk County Community Foundation, it recently continued to preserve the beauty of the garden with the temporary transplanting of existing plants, replanting, cleanup, addition of new plants and mulch as a result of the Town of Tryon’s upgrading of the sewer system that went through the garden.  With work completed by the town and by the club, the Depot Garden is now ready for visitors to stop and enjoy the peaceful setting. During this time, the club also supported through the Kirby Tryon Garden Club Special Projects Fund, the community effort to restore the garden’s neighbor, Morris the Horse, now back in his familiar spot across the street.

A second grant through the Kirby Tryon Garden Club Pearson’s Falls Trail Maintenance Fund allowed the Tryon Garden Club to continue the preservation of one of the area’s most beautiful and botanically diverse sanctuaries, Pearson’s Falls. The ongoing project of treating of hemlock trees at Pearson’s Falls for the woolly adelgid was supported through the Kirby Fund for Pearson’s Falls Trail Maintenance. In addition, a yearly professional inspection for erosion control in the glen was also funded through the Kirby Fund and Polk County Community Foundation.

The Tryon Garden Club is the fourth oldest garden club in North Carolina, celebrating its 85th anniversary this year.  A 501(c)(3) organization, members are active in preserving and protecting the natural environment of the area, fulfilling the organization’s mission to foster an awareness and appreciation of the natural world, and to conserve, protect, and maintain the area surrounding Pearson’s Falls.

– article submitted by Wyndy Morehead