Asheville's Art-Filled Gardens Are A Beautiful Hub Of Creativity And Charm

One of America's top three towns to visit in 2025, Asheville is a quirky mountain town in North Carolina that's known for its scenery, historic sites like the Biltmore Estate, and art scene. And just a few minutes away from the famed River Arts District, North Carolina's most creative hub, sits Peace Gardens and Market, an art and garden hub that has blossomed from what used to be an old, overgrown lot. It all started with homegrown tomatoes, and now, the gardens are filled with fresh produce, native plants, art, a stage for live performances, a fire pit, a community library, and more. Local volunteers help maintain the space and crops, giving back to the community through care packages, a seasonal market, artisanal products, a thriving green space, and community events.

Peace Gardens and Market has been around since 2003, when it was first established to address trauma stemming from the Iraq war and America's "war on drugs." Co-founder DeWayne Barton told Mountain Xpress that he hoped the project would become a community hub that not only feeds people but also helps heal internal struggles. Established in the historically Black Burton Street neighborhood, the gardens and market now offer the community a place to gather, share, and learn from one another — surrounded by art that celebrates Black history.

"When we were trying to clean up the neighborhood, we picked up a lot of garbage. After that we wanted to create a green space in the neighborhood," Barton explained to Mountain Xpress. "We thought it could be a place to help absorb trauma. We said, 'Let's share food and art and throw parties and create a green space where people can come outside and talk to their neighbors again.'" For travelers, Peace Gardens offers a chance to see a side of Asheville shaped by neighborhood pride.

What started from one overgrown lot has now expanded into three blooming spaces: the Main Garden, Martha Jane's Garden, and the Vine Garden. The Main Garden is where visitors will find everything from a greenhouse to an outdoor oven and fire pit. The garden is separated into three themed sections as of the time of writing. The first section features a space for performances, a fire pit, a garden stand, and art themed "Ancestors in the Garden" and "Emotional Dysfunction of Consumption." Moving along to the second section, themed "Urban Nightmares" and "Silent Screams," the space explores topics like "Why Reparations?," Driving While Black," and "The State of Black Asheville." Visitors can also check out an outdoor classroom and hands-on workspace here. Lastly, the third section explores the theme "Make Our Water Safe."

Travel down the street, and you'll find Martha Jane's Garden, which is inspired by one of the project's earliest supporters, Martha Jane Ligon. The space, which Ligon donated, now serves as her memorial, also featuring a community composting system, a wood chip/mulch pile, a learning space, a fruit orchard, and a bright garden mural. The Vine Garden was added on in 2019 with the help of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, focusing on crops like squash, watermelons, and corn growing in Peace Gardens' largest hoophouse.

The art featured throughout the gardens includes portraits of historical and cultural figures, found-object installations themed around various social issues, and the work of artists like Ambrose Murray, Ernie Mapp, Molly Must, and others. There's also the Peace Gardens Retreat & Residency, which hosts selected artists in an on-site bungalow for six weeks to support their process — whether it's through visual arts, performance arts, or some other creative endeavor.

Asheville is the perfect setting for the Peace Gardens and Market, where it has become a local treasure. "It has been a community experiment of people coming together," Barton told Mountain Xpress. "Not only people in the neighborhood but people from the outside that want to support the work and see it grow."

According to Peace Gardens' own numbers, the collective has harvested more than 11,000 pounds of food since its creation. Plus, the 1,000-plus young volunteers involved in caring for the grounds each year get hands-on community service experience, while more than 50 local families benefit from the food grown in the space. On Friday afternoons and all day Saturday from May through October, the market opens up to sell fresh produce picked from the gardens. Not only are the products priced on a pay-what-you-can honor system, but the proceeds help support programs through its "network of good," including the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) food box for elders and Hood Huggers Under Instruction, an initiative that helps mentor local teens.

Visitors are welcome to check the gardens out, but please be sure to read and follow the "Garden Guidelines," which are posted on site, according to Explore Asheville. There is merchandise available on the Hood Huggers website as well that supports the community and makes for a cool souvenir. Follow Peace Gardens on Instagram or Facebook to hear about fun events, like the annual Spring Fling, which features over 225 varieties of plants, food, live music, and a puppet show for the kids. With projects like this in the neighborhood, it's no wonder Asheville is known as an artsy city full of eclectic fun.