Cast of Characters

Gary Smith often refers to the people who built the Southern Highlands Reserve as the 'cast of characters'. No one has ever been exactly sure what Gary meant by that term but we've all taken it as a compliment. In the colorful character department, Gary surely has a place at the top of a list populated by people who seem to naturally generate interesting story after interesting story.

We did not have to run a want ad for 'characters'. They just seemed to show up, and, believe it or not, they all came with an abundance of talent and dedication. Almost every time a need for a specific talent or skill arose, that person just naturally appeared. Soon, we all began to realize that we were hooked up with something that had a life of its own.

The people listed here, and many more that are not listed, have made a personal and authentic contribution to a unique garden and institution. Some left their imprint in stone or wood, many in the ideas they contributed, many in the labor they expended to accomplish the task at hand, but each and every one left a little bit of themselves behind for others to enjoy.

If there is one attribute that most describes the spirit of the Southern Highlands Reserve, it is collaboration. Most of the gardens and ideas that make up the Reserve are impossible to attribute to one person. These people, with their ideas and inspirations and their willingness to selflessly devote their time, energy and intellect to a common cause, are the story of the Southern Highlands Reserve.

John Turner, Director

Founders

Robert and Betty Balentine

“As the twig is bent, so grows the tree”

Robert and Betty Balentine formed a bond with the natural world early on. Their formative years, whether spent in the woodland or the garden, naturally evolved into a garden and institution that has been aptly described by some as “the largest and most diverse collection of native southern Appalachian plants and their cultivars”.

Staff

John Turner

John Turner, accomplished journalist, photographer and plantsman in western North Carolina for the past thirty years, spearheaded the planning, design and execution of the Southern Highlands Reserve since its inception. Noted for carrying a folded copy of The New Yorker in the same back pocket as his chewing tobacco, he is described by many as a true Renaissance Man.

Howard Gibson

Howard Gibson, a native born son of the mountains, has been with the Southern Highlands Reserve since inception. Howard lives in the Glouchester community and is the go-to-man for any critical job in the garden. He is dedicated to a fault. It’s hard to get Howard to go home. One things for sure, if you absolutely have to be sure a job is done, on-time and right, Howard’s your man.

Richard Bryson

Richard Bryson, the Southern Highlands Reserve’s native plant specialist and plant accession record keeper, is a lifelong resident of the Sapphire area. His ancestors were among the first people to settle in upper Transylvania County.

Richard and his mother, Anita, live on a 30 acre tract that has been in their family for generations. Anita’s house is over 100 years old. Richard lives a short distance away in a one room cabin with no electricity. Needless to say, we refer to 49 year old Richard as ‘nature boy’.

Sue Owen

Like almost all avid gardeners, Sue Owen's affinity for plants began in childhood. "I used to follow in my grandfather's footsteps to the garden'" said Sue. She learned to love peonies and iris in her mother's and grandmother's garden.

One of her fondest childhood memories is of the annual family tradition of photographing the first blooms of her mother's night blooming cactus.

Continuing the family gardening tradition, Sue grows many native plants at her home in Sapphire, along with garden flowers and vegetables.

Clara Gaona

An integral part of the SHR family, Clara Gaona describes working at the Southern Highlands Reserve as a pleasure .... “to be surrounded by nature and working with friends.” Clara has been here since the beginning. She planted the first plant in the Core Park, a hydrangea at Vaseyi Pond.

James Hall

James Hall, a member of the Southern Highlands Reserve staff since the beginning, is the man we depend on around here to keep the trains running on time and the clocks ticking. Dependable and thorough in everything he does, James uses his farming experience everyday at the Reserve, whether it’s in the vegetable garden or on the tractor. James is native-born in Transylvania county and married to Janet, a local florist. James worked for 33 years for the Dupont-Sterling-Agfa plant in Brevard.

Consultants

Richard E. Bir

It was the Southern Highlands Reserve’s good fortune to have begun our project at the same time that Dick Bir was retiring from a 25 year career with North Carolina State University at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research & Extension Center in Fletcher, NC.

Gary Smith

With more than twenty-five years of experience in public garden design and master planning, W. Gary Smith has distinguished himself as a landscape architect who celebrates plants and the connections they offer between people and nature. As an ecological designer and professional horticulturist, he combines art, horticulture, and architectural features in innovative ways, exploring the intersection between ecological design and artistic abstraction.

Ron Lance

The Southern Highlands Reserve is fortunate to have formed an early alliance with Ron Lance. Ron has served as chief botanist in charge at the Reserve, keeping us on the straight and narrow as far as which plant is which is concerned. Ron's plant knowledge is thorough, authentic and personal. A walk in the woods with Ron is truly a sensory experience. When asked about the identity of a plant, Ron often insists you feel, taste and smell it. You've pretty much got it down pat from that point forward.

Jesse Turner

Jesse Turner, son of Southern Highlands Reserve director, John Turner, has been a member of the Reserve design and implementation team from the first days of the project. By virtue of being a landscape architecture student at North Carolina State University while the Reserve was in its formative stages, Jesse was able not only to bring a youthful perspective but also the influence of his professors and associates to the Reserve.

Artisans

Jack and Travis Owen

Jack and Travis Owen, a father and son team, have left an indelible imprint on the Southern Highlands Reserve. From the many large native boulders used for steps and walls all over the Reserve, the unique Jacks’s Barn, the chestnut boards inside the office building and the large soapstone rock used for the patio fireplace on the roof garden, Jack and Travis have left a lasting impression.

Aaron Bailey and Jesse Morgan

Aaron Bailey and Jesse Morgan, both graduates of Brevard College’s Outdoor Leadership program, are imaginative and creative in their approach to solving unique woodland construction problems at the Southern Highlands Reserve. Their challenge has been to provide access to fragile environments without destroying what we are traveling to see.

Joel Queen

When Joel Queen of Cherokee, NC first visited the Southern Highlands Reserve to inspect what had been described to him as "a piece of soapstone the size of a Volkswagen that we don't know what to do with", he began an artistic adventure that culminated in the creation of a sculpture that has captivated each person who has seen what is called, for lack of a better name, 'the Indian Rock Fireplace'. Located on the roof garden patio, Joel's sculpture is a depiction of the legend explaining how the Native American people came to acquire fire.

C&E Remodeling

C&E is a family operation. Owner Jim Eiland and his son, Peter, along with nephew Sean Cogan, began construction in the spring of 2006 on the Southern Highlands Reserve’s new office, andmeeting and maintenance facility, Chestnut Lodge. The Eilands and Cogan brought along a staff of experienced artisans and craftsmen that have completed a much talked-about building. Many of those in the wood business have commented... "there is not another building like this in the U.S." — a handcrafted building with this much wormy chestnut.