Gold Hill Gardens owners honored for dedication to community

Editor's note: This is the first in a series of stories featuring winners of several categories leading up to the Auburn Chamber of Commerce's Celebrate the Community Awards on Oct. 3 at Gold Hill Gardens in Newcastle. Mike and Cindy Carson, owners of Gold Hill Gardens, used their love of plants and landscaping to create a destination within the foothills community. Cindy said a trip to The Butchart Gardens in British Columbia inspired them to create gardens people could come look at and enjoy. Once the gardens started to expand, the couple received inquiries about hosting weddings and other events on the property. Eleven years later, the Carsons took a property full of star thistle and created Gold Hill Gardens, a 38-acre wedding and event venue, inclusive of a bed and breakfast, pool, farm-stay cottages and nursery. The property includes manicured gardens, trees, a tent-covered reception area and a creek with a bridge crossing over. "We really wanted to be able to share the garden experience and the nature experience with people, so that's kind of how it evolved," Mike said. Events hosted at the gardens include weddings, fundraisers and charitable events, orientation and graduation for Leadership Auburn, Placer Wine & Ale Trail's Sips and Suds, celebrations of life and company picnics. The couple said they also strive to give back to the community and recommend local vendors as much as possible. "It comes back tenfold, I believe," Mike said. "The more you can do and provide for your community, it just makes for a better place for living and that's one of the reasons we want to share what we have because we're fortunate enough to have this. It's nice to be able to share." Cindy added, "We have so many things going on in the Auburn area (and) Placer County, like the wineries, so to be able to support each other – we all come together then people enjoy coming out to the Auburn area." Peggy Seitzinger, past president of the Auburn Chamber of Commerce, said the Carson's support of the community and the Chamber is the exact reason Gold Hill Gardens was selected as the Business of the Year for this year's Celebrate the Community Awards. "They are supportive when we need monetary sponsors for events," Seitzinger told the Auburn Journal of Mike and Cindy. "They provide their facility at no charge, multiple times a year for Leadership Auburn events, and at a deep discount for the Celebrate the Community event. Mike and Cindy always find a way to say 'yes' when asked if they can help the Chamber with something." In addition to providing a destination for the community, the couple said they enjoy most seeing the joy in people's eyes and having the opportunity to share in their experience while visiting. Cindy shared when she and Mike assisted with weddings on the property, they felt like family by the day of the ceremony. "I would be standing here with the bride and her father getting ready, and she was really nervous and he was all sentimental and it would make you cry because I felt like it's my daughter or this is my family because you've known them," Cindy said. With the hire of Manager Katie Miller, the Carsons said they have been able to retire and focus on expanding the gardens. "Katie has been an awesome add for us," Mike said. "She gives us the ability to go do things around the perimeter, the property for expanding that we would not be able to do because we were running the day-to-day operations, and she does all of that now." Mike and Cindy said they are currently focusing on expanding to offer spa services on the property to include massages, yoga and a weight room. "It gets better every year," Cindy said. Gold Hill Gardens will again host the Celebrate the Community Awards on Oct. 3, with cocktails at 5 p.m. and dinner at 6. Tickets for the event can be purchased at auburnchamber.net/celebrate-the-community. For more information about Gold Hill Gardens, visit goldhillgardens.com, Gold Hill Gardens on Facebook, @goldhillgardensca on Instagram or email info@goldhillgardens.com.