Our Top 10 of 2010

How original, right? A countdown of the year's top moments! Don't run away though, there's some good stuff in here, some that you may not know about. Things that make a real impact on real people in Birmingham and beyond! So without further adieu, here are my top 10 moments in 2010...

10) Another Record-Breaking Fall Plant Sale

After a two-day trial run in 2009 (which set the sales record for the event), we decided to stick with the new Saturday/Sunday schedule and boy did it pay off! This past Fall Plant Sale was the biggest yet with over 3,700 shoppers helping us raise more than $36,000. And props to all of the volunteers who helped us with setup, growing, selling, cashiering, loading and any other task you can imagine!

9) John Manion Named Curator of the Kaul Wildflower Garden

Ok, so when we hired John as our new curator of the Kaul Wildflower Garden earlier this year, we had no clue what we were in store for! John has turned out to be a fantastic asset for The Gardens! He actively recruits new volunteers for his workdays, he writes his own newsletter, Botanically Speaking, on natives, and he's even a big help to the development team developing relationships with donors.

8) Bridge of Accomplishment Restored

Our Japanese Gardens got a bit of a makeover in the spring with the painting and restoration of the Bridge of Accomplishment, better known as the "zig zag bridge," over Long Life Lake. If you haven't seen it, I suggest taking a stroll in mid- to late-March or anytime in the spring to see the cherry blossoms!

7) Garden Dirt Wins Platinum Creative Award, Again

Birmingham Botanical Gardens once again represented Alabama quite well in AMCP's (Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals) Hermes Creative Awards. We brought home Platinum in the newsletter category for Garden Dirt and gold in the e-newsletter category for Dirt E-lert. Birmingham Botanical Gardens was the only botanical garden or arboretum to win a Platinum Hermes Creative Award; The University of Alabama was the only other Alabama institution to win a platinum award in 2010.

6) Junior Board Launched

The inaugural Junior Board of Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens met on February 23 at Jackson's Bar & Bistro in Homewood. At this first meeting the Junior Board named officers (Miller Allen, president; Ashley Gassner, vice-president; and Dionne Burks, secretary) and began planning for their future. So far this year the group has hosted a Family & Friends Mixer at the home of Cathy Adams on top of Red Mountain and is now planning for a very exciting event in the Japanese Gardens. (Shh, that's all I can tell you for now...I've already said too much!)

5) Volunteers of the Year Honored

The Friends hosts the annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon every December to pay tribute to the hundreds of volunteers who give their time and talent to make us successful each and every year. During the luncheon we also dole out the Volunteer of the Year awards; we added a fifth award to the slate this year: the A. Brand Walton Unsung Hero award for outstanding service behind the scenes. The 2010 Volunteers of the Year are Fox 6 (Community Partner); Carol Hinshaw (Educator); Dr. Ed Fineberg (Plantsperson); Plant Sale Treasurers Cathy Canant, Terri DiMuro, Jeanon Massien, and the late Teresa Neal (A. Brand Walton Unsung Hero); and Dr. John A. Floyd (Ida C. Burns Volunteer of the Year).

4) Antiques at The Gardens Turns Five

This past October we celebrated the fifth anniversary of Antiques at The Gardens by rolling out the red carpet at the Sterne Agee First Look Party. Lecturers Miles Redd and DeJuan Stroud provided opportunities to learn and laugh and dozens of dealers provided hordes of goodies for homeowners, decorators and architects. All told the event raised more than $290,000 to support educational programs at The Gardens, bringing the five year total to over $1.6 million.

3) Spring Plant Sale Smashes Attendance Record

More than 7,400 folks came out to Colonial Brookwood Village for the Spring Plant Sale, making it the most attended plant sale in the history of The Gardens. The 2010 Spring Plant Sale did not disappoint in fundraising either, raising over $262,000!

2) New Master Plan Unveiled to Public

On March 25, 2010, Executive Director Fred Spicer and Scott Scarfone of Oasis Design Group revealed The Gardens' new Master Plan. The new vision for Birmingham Botanical Gardens includes new gardens (like a Persian-themed garden), creation of event and education spaces (such as completion of the Arrington Plant Adventure Zone), and long-term fixes to facility issues (accessibility, stormwater drainage and parking). Stay tuned for projects as they get underway!

And now, the moment you've been waiting for...#1!

1) YOU!

Because of you, our readers, Facebook fans, donors, members, volunteers, visitors and other supporters, we have not laid off a single person or cut a single program! 2010 wasn't the year that we smashed all fundraising records, but we succeeded in so many big ways (see above!) during an otherwise very difficult year, and it was because of you. We gave free, science-based field trips to 10,000 schoolchildren again, and provided educational opportunities to tens of thousands of adults and children. We may not be fending off takeovers by Google like some companies, but we feel good about what we've accomplished over the past 12 months, and we could not have done it without each and every one of you. Thank you, and happy new year!

Discovery Field Trips Bring Science to Life for Thousands of School Kids

The 2008-2009 school year was one of the most succesful for Discovery Field Trips in the history of Birmingham Botanical Gardens, continuing the record-setting trends for the year. Last year more than 10,000 school children visited The Gardens on nearly 450 field trips.

Discovery Field Trips, one of the programs at the heart of our education mission, are free to participants thanks to support for transportation from the Junior League of Birmingham and Vulcan Materials Corporation. Birmingham City Schools increased 9% over last year and Bessemer City Schools increased 36%, accounting for a great deal of the success.

We also owe our most sincere thanks to the wonderful volunteers for a successful year. These talented volunteers work as a team to welcome students and teachers; they guide them on educational journeys that bring the kids' classroom studies to life. All six award-winning Discovery Field Trips are science-based programs that correlate with the Alabama State Course of Study and are aligned with the National Science Education Standards.

Spring Plant Sale 2009 - Most Successful Ever!

Despite a lingering financial crisis, last weekend's Spring Plant Sale was the most successful of all time. In its 40th year, Birmingham Botanical Gardens' annual sale brought in over $265,000 with nearly 7,400 visitors coming through the doors. There were more than 85,000 plants available with the Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost' being the signature plant (which was clearly a hit, as it sold out on Saturday).

This massive undertaking was made possible by the hundreds of loyal and knowledgeable volunteers at Birmingham Botanical Gardens. As any volunteer-based organization can atest, these tireless workers are the heart and soul of Birmingham Botanical Gardens; from working events to sitting on committees to being field trip docents, our volunteers do it all.

Money earned at the Spring Plant Sale goes to Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens' education programs and activities. Friends' mission is to promote public knowledge and appreciation of plants, gardens, and the environment and to receive, raise and administer resources for these purposes. Some of these programs include Discovery Field Trips, Children's Summer Workshops, Adult & Family Classes and Horticultural Therapy. Last year more than 10,000 school children were able to take advantage of the free Discovery Field Trips to learn about science and nature.

Stay tuned for some fun videos and pics from the Spring Plant Sale