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.

The challenges, although many, have been aptly rewarded by the realization of the dream that he and the Balentines began to pursue in early 2002. That dream was to build a garden that would feature most of the 1500 species of plants that grow in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. "That goal may never be realized, but the challenge of making the effort makes the possibility of actually attaining the end more possible than if the effort were never attempted," said John.  "A priceless result of building the Reserve," John added, "is the deep and lasting friendship that has developed with Robert and Betty Balentine over the years."

"There have been two inspiring aspects during the last seven years at the Reserve — the people and the idea," John remarked. "Beginning with Robert and Betty's vision and willingness to provide the resources to see this dream fulfilled, carried through to all the people who contributed of themselves so selflessly and thoroughly to see the job done — it has been an inspiration. No less inspiring, however, is the concept behind the Reserve.  In the beginning, we did not realize that no one had ever attempted to build a native plant garden in the higher elevations of the southern Appalachians. In an area that has, arguably, the most diverse deciduous forest in the world; it seemed natural that somewhere, someone was honoring this distinction.  But, no — although there are many gardens and arboreta that have sections devoted to southern Appalachian mountain plants — none were devoted entirely to celebrating this diverse ecosystem. Along the way, as we pursued our dream, it became pretty evident that we were not in complete control. You may call it serendipity or Divine Guidance, but as things fell into place incident after incident soon made it pretty plain that we were just along for the ride."

In 2008, the completion of the major infrastructure at the Reserve marked the beginning of its real mission — educating the public about the importance of protecting these diverse plant communities and promoting the use of native plants in the landscape.