When I visited the Birmingham Botanical Gardens for the first time, the roses were in bloom. They were exuberant, spilling over arbors, climbing up trellises, and blossoming in a flutter of hues across delineated beds. Surrounded by opening buds and inhaling their honeyed scent, I didn’t think I had ever experienced anything so lovely. It’s still one of my favorite places in the city, and—based on the number of people who stop to smell the roses’ sweet perfumes and remark on their dramatic colors and forms—I’m not the only one who is smitten with them.
Open since 1962, the gardens makeup one of Alabama’s most cherished green spaces. More than 330,000 visitors come here each year to enjoy quiet moments in nature. A partnership between the City of Birmingham and the nonprofit Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens, the extensive property comprises 67 acres and includes a vast network of walking paths; a formal lawn that’s bookended by splashing fountains; allées of crepe myrtles; a stately conservatory that’s filled with cacti, tropical plants, and citrus trees; and two rose gardens plus other nooks that are dedicated to wildflowers, irises, ferns, camellias, and daylilies.
The Best Time To Visit The Gardens
If you stop by during spring and summer or even in fall,the abundant roses will likely be one of the first things you notice. They plant their roots in two distinct spaces. The Dunn Formal Rose Garden is home to more than 100 types of modern roses, including hybrid teas, miniatures, grandifloras, floribundas, and polyanthas as well as the gravity-defying climbing ones in a rainbow of colors. This area is named for William
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Twenty-five years ago when my wife Kathy and I started searching for a new home for our growing family, she focused on all the qualities one looks for in a new house. I, of course, looked at what every gardener considers imperative—the lot. Thanks to Kathy, we ended up with a wonderful new place. And much to my delight, the property had one particularly important feature—good soil. The other nice bonus was that the backyard bordered a small city park, with lots of open space for the kids to play, so my garden design did not have to include an area for kicking a soccer ball. Plant-wise, however, there wasn’t much other than invasive shrubs and trees. So after removing all the nasty invasives, I had a clean slate to work with.
Starting a new garden from scratch can be daunting, but it’s also a fantastic opportunity to create exactly what you want. The vision I had for my new garden (two decades ago) was based on the many small English gardens that I was lucky enough to visit—not the gardens with impeccably maintained lawns and neatly clipped hedges, but those that had plants spilling out of every nook and cranny. Since its inception, the landscape has been slowly undergoing a transformation over the past decade, from a traditional shade garden to a more naturalistic one that embraces an ecology-first mindset. This evolution, however, hasn’t sacrificed the original intention of my dream garden—that it be a visually appealing space with plenty of activity.
Like many northern gardeners, I had red-hot poker envy for many years but ruled out growing them because of their iffy -chances of surviving winter in my region. However, I am very excited about some of the newer Kniphofia introductions we are growing at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Being able to overwinter a South African plant in the Midwest is pretty cool, right?
I have grown alliums for their stunning architectural form for years, but one is by far my favorite: ‘Ambassador’. Although its bulb is related to garlic, onions, and shallots, this ornamental garden variety is a show-stopper. There are many other allium cultivars out there, ranging in size, color, and form, but ‘Ambassador’ rises to the top of my list for a lot of reasons.
I was first introduced to Mohr’s rosinweed on a botanizing trip to northern Alabama. It’s a true native stalwart and one of the many durable plants in the genus Silphium that are indigenous to prairies, meadows, and grasslands across the United States. These resilient members of the aster family are known to be both beautiful and extremely low maintenance in a garden setting.
Cucumbers are among the most popular crops for home gardeners. They’re easy to grow and just a handful of vines can provide enough cucumbers for fresh eating from mid-summer through late fall. But proper cucumber plant spacing can mean the difference between healthy, productive plants and disease ridden, low yielding ones. Let’s take a look at how far apart to plant cucumbers based on your growing technique and the method you use to plant them. Why properly spacing cucumber plants matters Before we dive into the details on proper plant spacing for cucumbers, let’s take a
Bridgerton is coming to Chelsea this month, as Netflix makes its debut at the flower show, with a garden themed around its popular TV show. First time Chelsea designer Holly Johnston has created a garden based on the personal journey of the show’s main character, Penelope Featherington. The Bridgerton Garden is part of the Sanctuary Gardens area at the show.
Pale brick pavers, laid in a herringbone pattern, run from the open-plan ground floor out into the garden, creating a seamless transition between the two spaces.
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are among the most popular herbs for home gardeners to grow. They are easy to plant and care for, and since they are a hardy perennial, they return to the garden year after year. The fragrant and flavorful leaves of the chive plant are delicious to people, but the deer and rabbits leave them alone. To add yet another benefit, chive flowers are a favorite nectar source for many of the pollinators who also help pollinate other edible crops. Learning how to harvest chives for use in the kitchen is key to enjoying this easy-to-grow herb. Let’s take a look at several different ways to harvest chives for both fresh use and for preservation. The best time to harvest chives Before we get to the information on how to harvest chives, it’s important to understand
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Growing corn in containers allows you to enjoy the sweet flavor of homegrown corn in a smaller space. While you do need the right pot, soil, seeds, and technique to grow corn in pots, it’s not difficult to do. In this article, I’ll share everything you need to know, including how to hand-pollinate your corn plants to get fully developed ears from just a few plants. Why start growing corn in containers Aside from saving space, growing corn in pots lets you harvest from unconventional spaces, i