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Month: February 2023

NEWS FLASH !!!

Montgomery Botanical Gardens at Oak Park Reintroduces Education Workshops

Following a long hiatus due to COVID 19,  the Montgomery Botanical Gardens at Oak Park plans a series of educational workshops in the Gardens which will offer River Regions residents a variety of useful and entertaining sessions. The first workshop, Pruning Your Garden, will be offered Saturday, March 4, 2023, at 10:00 AM in the Wisdom Woods Outdoor Classroom. Registration is not required for this session.

Karen Weber, member of the Capitol City Master Gardeners Association, will present the workshop. Karen, a graduate of The Ohio State University, with a degree in Ornamental Horticulture, has experience as head gardener for Jack Niklaus in northern Palm Beach County. After moving to Montgomery, she became gardener for the Wynton Blount estate and later for the Alabama Shakespeare Garden located at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.

Workshop participants will receive instruction in the proper ways to prune a variety of shrubs and trees. They will also learn which tools and techniques work best. Weather permitting, they will also have time to practice the skills presented in the workshop.  In the event of inclement weather, the workshop will be moved to the Montgomery Botanical Gardens greenhouse, and a later time will be scheduled for allowing participants the opportunity to practice their skills in the Gardens.

Additional workshops planned for the remainder of the year include Container Gardening, Daylilies, Herbs, Bulb Planting, a host of additional activities for National Public Gardening Week in May, and several special programs which will be announced at a later date. Specific information on these workshops will be made available in the coming weeks.

Spring Will Come

Like your own gardens, the Montgomery Botanical Gardens experienced brutal winter weather in the last few months. Many plants suffered damage, some temporary and some maybe permanent. You probably look at the brown leaves on at least the tops of your shrubs or ground covers and wonder if you will ever see the brilliant green leaves or the colorful blooms of years past. Well there is always hope and even visual evidence of a reason to hope that the beauty of Spring will return again. The bright yellow Forsythia are already beginning to blossom in the gardens. While they are usually one of the first to show off in the Spring, late January is quite early to see the sprinkling of yellow blossoms along the draping limbs of this hardy shrub. The Japanese Magnolia is already showing off its early blossoms and the Pansies in the Daylily and Companion Garden are all vying for attention. Even the Daffodil Bulbs are pushing up through the ground and already bear a few bright yellow blossoms. It will bring a smile to your face and encourage hope in you heart for the coming of Spring when you visit the gardens and walk beside these brave and beautiful blooms. Come visit while they last.

Plans to Restart Classes in the Gardens

As you know, until the Covid Pandemic stopped us all in our tracks, we had been offering educational classes in the gardens on a regular basis, usually on Saturday mornings.  You will be pleased to know that the MBG Board of Directors is once again planning to offer a variety of classes in our Wisdom Woods Outdoor Classroom. When the Education Committee has the presenters and dates confirmed, we will share the schedule in this MBG newsletter so you and your friends can make plans to attend.  So, watch for an announcement soon. 

MBG Fundraising Advisory Council Activated

MBG is very excited that Dr. Tyna Davis, past president of MBG Board of Directors, has been appointed as chair of the MBG Fundraising Advisory Council. Dr. Davis has been effective in raising funds for MBG in the past. Her leadership and expertise will enable this group to make great strides in identifying new funding options, new resources, groups, and individuals that can help to increase the funding base for MBG. The function of the Fundraising Advisory Council is to develop plans and mechanisms to attract and inform potential new donors, corporate sponsors/donors. government funding and planned giving donations and advise the board accordingly.  Dr. Davis and the board of directors will identify community members who can contribute to the work of this council and encourage them to participate.