Live in Louisville for any amount of time and you’ll see the Brown Frazier family’s impact in more than a few places — like the Frazier History Museum + Brown-Forman Corp. — and now there’s one more: The Avish Estate Garden Complex.
Purchased by Steve Poe — CEO of Poe Companies — and his wife Merry-Kay for $2.7 million in 2018, the estate used to be home to prominent local philanthropist Owsley Brown Frazier until his death in 2012, after which the gardens became overgrown. While the estate itself is private property, you can take a peek inside.
Now the six acre gardens at The Avish are used in partnership with the Waterfront Botanical Gardens for its educational programming, like yoga and plant classes. The 23-acre property includes 20+ kinds of garden beds that grow produce for cooking classes, flowers, and winter plants + it has two greenhouses
Visit the property at one of these upcoming events:
- Enjoying Aquatic Garden Plants | Sat., July 16 | 9-10:30 a.m. | $19 for members, $24 for non-members | Learn how to create a small aquatic garden using patio containers.
- Yoga at The Avish | Sat., Aug. 6 | 9-10 a.m. | $10 for members, $15 for non-members | Bring your mat + water bottle and build strength during this morning practice.
- Avish Evening Walk-About | Thurs., Aug. 11 | 6-7:15 p.m. | $5 for members, $10 for non-members | Explore the estate + learn from an expert on how to care for an aged garden.
Next up for the Waterfront Botanical Gardens at 1435 Frankfort Ave. will be its Japanese Garden, complete with a waterfall + pond, a tea house, and bamboo grove.
