We have made a tremendous amount of progress this past week with upgrades to the Townsend River Walk and Arboretum.

The bench by the Pollinator & Memorial Garden underwent a minor operation to install new slats to the seat.   It is a bench that you can actually sit on and enjoy the butterflies and the beauty of the garden.

Holes were dug and the new aluminum posts were cemented in place for the 40+ new anodized aluminum signs that will be installed this upcoming week. 

The old wooden posts were removed and will be reused along walkways on the river walk.

Cleanup continued along the main walkway and gardens.

Sill lots of work to do but the results are well worth it.  Stop by and check the progress out!

Thanks to all those that helped in March with the clearing of a large section of the Townsend River Walk & Arboretum, we are seeing incredible results with an abundance of wildflowers!  The Mayapples, Trillium, Golden Ragwort, Solomon's Seal,  False Solomon Seal, Virginia Blue Bells, Bloodroot and so much more has turned this former invasive plant haven into a beautiful garden.  Stop by and have a look, you won't be disappointed.  If you would like to add your support for this project a small donation would be appreciated.

• Newly cleared area full of woildflowers!

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  Newly cleared area full of woildflowers!

• Carolina Silverbells in the Roadside Speciman Garden.

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  Carolina Silverbells in the Roadside Speciman Garden.

• Huge Trillium near the Little River along the River Walk.

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  Huge Trillium near the Little River along the River Walk.

• False Solomon's Seal.

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  False Solomon's Seal.

• Crested Dwarf Iris

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  Crested Dwarf Iris

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• White Bluebell

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  White Bluebell

• Wilflowers popping up everywhere along the Townsend RIver Walk & Arboretum.

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  Wilflowers popping up everywhere along the Townsend RIver Walk & Arboretum.

• Soloman's Seal ready to bloom

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  Soloman's Seal ready to bloom

• A large patch of Virginia Bluebells

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  A large patch of Virginia Bluebells

• Old roadside picnic cooking fireplace

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  Old roadside picnic cooking fireplace

• Wildflower's are everywhere.  What a beautiful Spring.

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  Wildflower's are everywhere.  What a beautiful Spring.

• Mayapples!  More mayapples growing than ever before.

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  Mayapples!  More mayapples growing than ever before.

• The result of volunteers removing the invasive plants from this area.

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  The result of volunteers removing the invasive plants from this area.

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Invasives can't stop Trillium from growing!

Took some photos today at the River Walk of some of the flowers and trees.   Ragwort, bloodroot, trillium, bluebells, redbuds and more.  With all the invasive removal it is much easier to spot all the blooming plants as well as seeing the river from the walk.  Check out our slideshow below and spot our new friend of the River Walk!

The Townsend River Walk & Arboretum now has a logo thanks to talents of Tuckaleechee Garden Club members: Theresa Schehr, Charlotte Miller & Mark Seder.  The simple logo represents area around the River Walk with an image of a Tulip Poplar (TN state tree) in the foreground with the convergence of the mountains (Great Smoky Mountains) and the river (Little River).  This logo will be used on all the new Arboretum signs and plant signs that will be making their way along the River Walk starting May 2019.  A color version of the logo is currently being worked on an should be available in the next couple of months. There is a lot of work that will be done on the River Walk in the next few months and if you would like to make a donation using the button below it would be appreciated.  All donations are administered by the Tuckaleechee Garden Club.

It turned out to be a beautiful Saturday for the Inaugural Invasive Plant Removal Workday with our partners: Keep Blount Beautiful and the Little River Watershed Association.   We can't thank enough the 15 volunteers that showed up and removed almost a ton of invasive pants along the River Walk & Arboretum.  Privet, honeysuckle and mimosa were just some of the culprits.  The views of the river were greatly enhanced as from not only the trail thru lower trail but also the upper trail where a small forest of mimosa were cleared.  We plan to partner again for a fall invasive removal with details at a later date.

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• 8 of the 15 Volunteers for the May 4, 2019 Invasive cleanup.  Partnering with Keep Blount Beautiful and the Little River Watershed Association.

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  8 of the 15 Volunteers for the May 4, 2019 Invasive cleanup.  Partnering with Keep Blount Beautiful and the Little River Watershed Association.

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This is the 15th year since the inception of the Townsend River Walk & Arboretum, with the Tuckaleechee Garden Club overseeing the maintenance throughout those years. Most funds to preserve and enhance this project comes from the yearly plant sale sponsored by the Tuckaleechee Garden Club. The cost of preserving, protecting and enhancing the River Walk & Arboretum has continued to grow over the years but this year we are doing some major enhancements that need funding.

1. Replacing the tree and garden signs with metal posts and anodized aluminum signs as well as adding tags to the trees to make it easier for everyone to associate the sign and tree. (May 2019)
2. The Pollinator and Memorial Garden will be getting some upgrades. (May 2019)
3. The Roadside Specimen Garden will cleaned with new landscaping fabric and pine straw added. (May 2019)
4. The trial off of the main River Walk will be cleaned up and mulched. (May 2019)
5. Forest floor, river edge and hillside plants will be purchased and planted to help control erosion to the river walk area. (October 2019)

There have been many thousands of hours donated to the maintenance of the river walk over the last 15 years and that will continue but there is more to maintaining the River Walk and Arboretum and that requires your generosity.

All funds donated are 100% used for the Townsend River Walk & Arboretum (except for the credit card processing fees thru Paypal).

If you have enjoyed this wonderful, free to the public, natural resource we encourage you to make a small donation so that one of the jewels Blount County and Townsend will continue to shine for years to come.

Our Goal for 2019 is $3000 and have reached about 25% of that goal. 

We have made it easy to donate thru Paypal (You DO NOT Need a Paypal Account).

Donate by Credit Card or Paypal Account by just clicking the donate button at the bottom of the thermometer and follow the instructions. 

Your kindness and generosity are appreciated!

$ 3000

$ 800

27%

Updated
4/5/2019

The Townsend River Walk & Arboretum got a bit of a facelift thanks to about 20 volunteers from the Tuckaleechee Garden Club and the Clount County Master Gardeners.  Efforts were concentrated on clearing areas around the Pollinator & Memorial Garden and both side down the walking path, it was quite an undertaking but the results are fantastic.   Many invasives were removed including: privet, Japanese honeysuckle, multiflora rose and euonymus, with many taken out by the root.  What a great effort and we want to give a big THANKS! to everyone that took part.  If you get a chance during these beautiful Spring days, stop by the River Walk to see the transformation taking place!

Donations and budgeted funds have been provided for continuing enhancements for the Townsend River Walk and Arboretum.

The Blount County Master Gardeners have budgeted $500 for 2019 that will be used for Arboretum sign enhancements.

GBU Fraternal Department donated $150 that will also be used to enhance the Arboretum signs.