Located along Clear Creek just six miles east of downtown Hendersonville, Milkweed Meadows is a 5th generation family farm. Its grassy "bottoms" once nourished cows that produced milk sold to Biltmore Dairy Farms in Asheville. Today, the meadows are yielding milk of a different kind — milkweed plants to help sustain monarch butterflies!
THE FARM AND THE FARMER
An avid wildlife habitat gardener and environmental educator for over 25 years, farmer Kim Bailey has a true passion for pollinators. Over the past years, she has been expanding the farm's natural habitats for native milkweed species and planting additional host plants for other butterflies.
Living tunnels of passionvines, pipevines, climbing milkweeds, and hops vines benefit a diversity of species while an orchard of over 100 pawpaw trees specifically nurture zebra swallowtail larvae.
Milkweed Meadows Farm currently produces native wildflower seeds, open-pollinated heirloom vegetable seeds, pollinator-friendly potted plants, cut flowers, and specialty fruits. Educational programs and/or farm tours for groups are also periodically scheduled onsite.
UPCOMING PLANT SALES & PROGRAMS
Find Milkweed Meadows Farm selling pollinator-friendly potted plants and/or teaching at these local events:
Sunday, May 19, 12-5 PM
"May Flowers" Blue Ridge Artisan Market
Trailside Brewing Co., 873 Lenox Park Dr., Hendersonville, NC
Saturday, May 25 & Sunday, May 26, 9 AM - 5 PM
Garden Jubilee
Main Street, Hendersonville, NC
Booth #216, near the corner of N. Main and 2nd Ave. E. (located between Shine and Mezzaluna restaurants)
Speakers Showcase: Monarchs Milkweeds & More (2:30 PM, Saturday only)
Take an in-depth look at the natural history, migration, and habitat needs of monarch butterflies. If there was ever a time to help support monarchs by growing milkweed and a succession of nectar plants throughout the season, it is NOW! The 2024 overwintering population of monarchs in Mexico was the second-lowest ever recorded. What you grow in your own garden makes a crucial difference for monarchs and other pollinators.
Location: Historic Courthouse Plaza on N. Main St. between 1st and 2nd Avenues East (NOT at the Visitors' Center Stage as in past years).
Friday, May 31 & Saturday, June 1, 10 AM - 3 PM
NC Arboretum Spring Plant Sale & Market
100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville, NC
Saturday, June 8, 8 AM - 1 PM
Hendersonville Farmers Market
Historic Train Depot, 650 Maple Street, Hendersonville, NC
Saturday, June 22, 11:30 AM - 6 PM
The Bees’ Needs: Understanding and Supporting Pollinators Summit
Kittredge Theatre, Warren Wilson College, 701 Warren Wilson Rd, Swannanoa, NC
A day of exhibits, presentations, and native plant vendors plus a keynote address by Dr. Stephan Buchmann. This Summit is part of Bee City USA - Asheville's “Pollination Celebration!” taking place throughout the entire month of June in and around the greater Asheville area. Registration is required.
Thursday, August 15, 1 PM
TBA Pollinator Program at The Lanier Library
Program description TBA.
72 Chestnut Street, Tryon, NC
Monday, September 9, 6 PM - 7:30 PM
Certified Pollinator Advocate (CPA) Course: All About Monarchs & Their Migration
Asheville Botanical Gardens, 151 W.T. Weaver Blvd., Asheville, NC
Talk about picky eaters! Monarch butterflies have captured the imagination of young and old with their exclusive milkweed diet and unfathomable migration from Canada to Mexico. This class will cover everything from milkweed seed collection and stratification to species options for different settings, dangers of tropical milkweed, the milkweed insect community, raising monarchs responsibly, reporting monarch sightings, and tagging monarchs. Registration is required.
Saturday, September 14, 9 AM - 3 PM
The Botanical Gardens at Asheville Fall Plant Sale
151 W.T. Weaver Blvd., Asheville, NC
Saturday, September 21, 8 AM - 1 PM
Hendersonville Farmers Market
Historic Train Depot, 650 Maple Street, Hendersonville, NC
Friday, September 27 & Saturday, September 28, 10 AM - 3 PM
NC Arboretum Spring Plant Sale & Market
100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville, NC
February 15 - February 21, 2025 (Trip is now full, but a waiting list is available in case of any openings.)
Migration of the Monarch Butterflies in Mexico Trip
Morelia, Angangueo, & Macheros, Mexico
(Sierra Chincua, El Rosario, and Cerro Pelón Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserves)
CONTACT US TO...
- Make an appointment to purchase potted plants or buckets of fresh-cut flowers at the farm (typically available May - October).
- Schedule a farm tour and/or onsite educational program for your garden club, classroom, or other group ($10 per person, $100 minimum). Kim may also be available to give presentations or teach classes/workshops on monarch butterfly ecology, gardening for pollinators, etc. at your location.
- Contract for “grow to order” pollinator-friendly plants available in 5” deep 38-plug flats or quart containers (8-12 weeks’ notice needed, depending on species) or bulk seed production.
- Request butterfly eggs, caterpillars, and chrysalides (as naturally available April - September) for your classroom, public garden/arboretum, or other educational organization. Butterflies are always free. Host plants (to feed caterpillars) are available for purchase.
- Purchase native passionfruit (AKA maypop) or pawpaw fruit (typically available starting in September) for fresh eating, brewing/fermentation, or restaurant/culinary creations.
Individual packets of milkweed seeds and certain open-pollinated heirloom vegetable seeds grown at Milkweed Meadows Farm are available from Sow True Seed.