Finally, Your Most Pressing Questions Answered

At Birmingham Botanical Gardens, there is always something going on. Whether it's a fundraising event, like this week's Cocktails in The Gardens and Fall Plant Sale, or a Discovery Field Trip or a class, this place is always abuzz with activity. Having said that, it isn't very often we get to delve into botany and etymology at the same time. John Manion, curator of the Kaul Wildflower Garden, wants to change that. He's teaching a class titled "Come Again...What Was That?" on Saturday, October 23 here at The Gardens. Here's a tongue-in-cheek teaser for what should be a fun and enlightening day.

Metasequoia glyptostroboides,
AKA the Dawn Redwood

Do you wake in a cold sweat at night flummoxed by what the real meaning of Metasequoia glyptostroboides(1) is? Do you get indigestion wondering how your neighbors will react when you tell them you have planted Ceratostigma plumbaginoides(2) in your garden? And just how are you going to break it to your children that you have just purchased a Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis(3)?

Learn the solution to these quandaries and others by attending Come Again...What Was That? The mantra for this class will be “I will fear no botanical name!” You will learn how to sound smarter than you are by pronouncing multisyllabic botanical names, and how, when you don’t know a plant’s name, you can make one up with a bunch of gobbledygook and sound like you know what you are talking about! Register Online>>

Don't forget about our other Adult & Family Classes. We have four classes next week alone, including John's:

From Plastic Wrap to Fabulous
Creating floral arrangements from the grocery store
Instructor: Hank Ponder
Thursday, October 21 | 6-8 p.m.
$20 Members / $25 Non-members

Never be embarrassed over your store bought floral bouquet again! Hank Ponder, floral designer for Artistic Concepts, will show you how to use store bought flowers to create a fresh and fragrant floral arrangements. Bring your own store bought bouquet and clippers. Register Online>>

Raising Urban Chickens
Instructor: Barbara Saurer
Saturday, October 23 | 10 a.m.-Noon
$15 Members / $18 Non-members

Back by popular demand! Are you interested in keeping chickens in your backyard? Raising chickens is a fun and exciting journey. Join Barbara Saurer in this introductory session on how to raise and keep chickens in urban and suburban environments. Learn about the benefits of chickens, hen selection, city ordinances and more. Register Online>>

Family Class: Let’s Create a Bird Buffet
Instructor: Helena Uber-Wamble,
Education Director, Birmingham Audubon Society
Saturday, October 23 | 9-11 a.m.
$22 Adult Members, $12 Child Members
$27 Adult Non-members, $17 Child Non-members

Join us for the fun of preparing food fit for the birds! You will create several feeders and learn what natural foods in your yard can attract birds all year long. Participants will leave the class with at least three styles of feeders and the know-how of making great suet treats for the woodpeckers and birds in your backyard. Please note that there will be peanut butter used in several activity stations and that we will supply a separate table for those who have allergies. All materials will be provided. Please sign up early as space is limited. Register Online>>

Answers to the riddles above:
(1) Dawn Redwood
(2) Leadword
(3) Thornless Honeylocust