Exploring New Horizons

The Horizons School, a unique program for young adults with learning disabilities, recently blessed Birmingham Botanical Gardens with a summer intern. The school, now an autonomous 501(c)3, was started in 1991 by the UAB School of Education and has since helped a number of young adults (18-26) learn life lessons ranging from money management  to social skills to cooking to career training. They attend classes and seminars, take on work studies and attend socials with fellow students. After two years, these young men and women have gained invaluable lessons on independent living.

Brett Nichols has had a circuitous journey to Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Originally from Birmingham, Brett’s family moved to Alabama’s coast several years ago, where they still reside today. They spent a few years in Colorado, in between, as Brett is a lifelong lover of mountains and skiing. Brett returned to Birmingham to pursue the two-year program at the Horizons School; his parents visit him whenever they can get away from running Orange Beach’s popular Live Bait Restaurant.

We Walk Invisible

by Katherine King, Intern

Katie was recently chosen from eight finalists as our 2010 intern, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Shades Valley. From Bristol, Tennessee, Katie is a recent graduate of Samford University with a B.S. in biology--she has even studied botany in Belize (are you as jealous as we are?)! The internship gives a rising senior or recent college graduate hands-on experience with greenhouse production, planting, grounds maintenance, arboriculture, pest management, curatorial aspects of plant collections and garden display/design.

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As a youngster growing up in Tennessee, some of my fondest summer childhood memories involve running barefoot throughout my neighborhood with my siblings and other neighborhood children, and the repetitive calls of my mother to return home as the streetlights came on.  If we were lucky, we were allowed time to play “ain’t no bears out tonight” (a game similar to hide-and-seek).

Recently, I learned some intriguing folklore regarding bracken, a fern that is said to cover more of the earth’s surface than any other plant! Had I been aware of some of this plant’s reputed properties as a child, I most certainly would have tried to incorporate its fabled properties during play.  While researching this plant, I found bracken to be fascinating, and I hope you will too.

Gardening in the Shoulder Period

by Katherine King, Intern

Katie was recently chosen from eight finalists as our 2010 intern, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Shades Valley. From Bristol, Tennessee, Katie is a recent graduate of Samford University with a B.S. in biology--she has even studied botany in Belize (are you as jealous as we are?)! The internship gives a rising senior or recent college graduate hands-on experience with greenhouse production, planting, grounds maintenance, arboriculture, pest management, curatorial aspects of plant collections and garden display/design.

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Between the intensity of spring flora and the beginning of summer bloom, there exists what is sometimes referred to in the garden as the “shoulder period.” Compared to spring and summer, fewer plants are in bloom during this time of the season. As a newly graduated biologist (and aspiring botanist) and summer intern at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, an assignment was given to me to research native southeast wildflowers blooming within the shoulder period to plant in the Kaul Wildflower Garden.

Understanding this concept and learning which plants bloom during the shoulder period will help you add color to your plantings during what would normally be a “down time” in the garden.

In turn, I am attempting to catch up with the new Kaul Wildflower Garden curator’s vast knowledge of scientific plant names (he makes it up as he goes!) and help you add a little vibrance to your garden.

Gettin' Wild in The Gardens

John Manion recently assumed the post of Curator of the Kaul Wildflower Garden, and he would now like to invite you to get involved as he settles into his new role. John will be hosting regularly scheduled volunteer sessions for any plant enthusiasts, gardeners or otherwise curious volunteers to join him in the Kaul Wildflower Garden to learn about pruning, propogation, plant history & folklore, design, botany (including those ever-elusive botanical names) and much more! The consummate plantsman, John is certain to share personal plant stories, tips, trivia and other priceless info on a variety of plant issues.

These sessions will take place on the second and fourth Thursday as well as the third Saturday of each month. That means that starting Thursday, June 10, anyone interested in joining these sessions can meet at the gazebo in the Kaul Wildflower Garden at 8 a.m., lasting until about 11 a.m.