The Gardens as Narnia, Bonita Whitehead

One of the great things about working at a great public garden is the stories you get to hear. These stories vary: couples who wed in the Hill Garden, gardeners who poured their heart out digging in the dirt or children who came here on Discovery Field Trips to learn about plants. This past week we got to hear a story from Bonita Whitehead, who came here with her son during the recent "snow storm." I asked Bonita about her trip and to tell me the story of her connection to The Gardens. Here's what she had to say:

 

Click here to more of Bonita's "Snow Day" photos.

Out in the Cold - Part Two

This is the second half of Out in the Cold, which contains more tips and factoids from our Executive Director, Fred Spicer, about wintertime gardening in Alabama. Read up, comment, and pass it along to fellow gardeners or "Curious Georges," if you will. If you have any questions not answered in parts one or two, give us a call at 205.414.3900 and we'll find someone who can answer your query!

NON-HARDY PLANTS
Considering our climate, a major distinction to make initially is whether a plant is intended (or expected) to live out-of-doors through a Birmingham winter. For example, if you moved your fig (Ficus benjamina) outside for the summer – making a house plant a patio plant – and you haven’t brought it inside yet, it’s way too late. It’s dead. It’s not realistic to expect it to have lived. (The same could be said about the same plant having been planted in the ground; it’s not even close to being hardy.)

PLANTS IN CONTAINERS
Normally winter-hardy plants, Japanese maple (Acer palmatum), for instance, grown outside in containers through the winter, have an excellent chance of living through a typical winter here. Moist, well-drained soil in the container is important. Given that, if the container can withstand the expansion of frozen soil without cracking, and if the plant is well-watered, hardy plants will have their best chance of survival. The hardier the plant, the longer it can withstand frozen soil and plunging temperatures. We don’t expect any damage to container plants at The Gardens from this recent weather. We’re watering as we can.

Out in the Cold - Part One

very time the seasons change, we get a flood of gardening questions and requests for best practices. These questions are all over the proverbial horticultural map, ranging from topics like transplanting shrubs to growing native plants to tips on not killing flowers. Last week's (very) cold spell got us to thinking, so we asked our executive director for some pointers. In true Fred fashion, his counsel is highly educational and extraordinarily thorough. What follows is Out in the Cold - Part One, the first half of Fred's answers to pretty much any wintertime gardening-related question an Alabama gardener might have.

OUT IN THE COLD
by Fred Spicer, Executive Director, Birmingham Botanical Gardens

INTRODUCTION
It is specifically during frigid times like these that I am asked (mostly by non-gardeners) what Birmingham Botanical Gardens (BBG) is doing to protect our plants from the cold weather. My response, typically accompanied by a blank stare, is usually along the lines of, “What do you think we should be doing?”  I’m not sure if people think we erect a temporary, heated dome over our 67 acres, or set up phalanxes of small heaters, or enshroud our living collections in big blankets – I really don’t know what they’re thinking. We’re not running a citrus plantation, after all.  It seems to me that they’re hoping I will enlighten them with horticultural secrets carefully guarded by the gardening cognoscenti. Mostly, I think I disappoint them.

At this point, with winter firmly upon us, there’s really not much we can do. To be sure, we’re monitoring temperatures in our conservatory and greenhouses on an hourly basis (24/7), to make sure the heaters are working, but outside? Aside from some watering of new plantings and annuals (more on that later), not much at all. From our evaluative perspective, we are curious as to what our plants will do in the face of all weather, whether heat, drought or prolonged cold: what will they tell us? Our intention – following a collections mission of acquisition to determine suitable plants for our area – is to see what happens. But home gardeners don’t necessarily have the same mission, so I’ll discuss the factors that determine whether plants live, die, or partially die, in the winter, and a few things we’ve already done to maximize our potential success.

Giving Thanks and Giving Back

This time of year is traditionally a time of giving - thanks, gifts, service and so on. It's no secret that 2009 has been a difficult year for businesses, families, individuals, politicians and, yes, cultural institutions like ours. In light of all of the year's troubles and uncertainty, we have that much more reason to be thankful. The 2009 Spring Plant Sale had its biggest year of all time, as did the Fall Plant Sale just a few weeks ago. Antiques at The Gardens brought in more than $300,000 and attendance to Cocktails in The Gardens more than doubled that of 2008.

All of these great events help us further our mission to promote public knowledge and appreciation of plants, gardens and the environment. Among The Gardens' largest undertakings are the free Discovery Field Trips we offer from September-May. In the 2008-2009 school year, the number of children from Birmingham City Schools attending these unique, award-winning field trips increased 9%; attendance from Bessemer City Schools increased an impressive 36%! Of course we would not be able to offer these programs for free if not for the help from Junior League of Birmingham or Vulcan Materials, who offer transportation reimbursement for Birmingham City and Bessemer City Schools, respectively. The Junior League also provides us with a team of dynamic and loyal volunteers to serve as docents on Discovery Field Trips.

Our Horticultural Therapy program won its first national award, the John Walker Community Service Award, this summer. The program keeps growing, servicing over 2,400 clients last year, with the help of increased media attention and grants. The launch of the P.L.A.N.T. program, which pairs exceptional students with mentors from independent living facilities, was a huge milestone.