Maggie Stringer decorating the entrance to the gardens.
Month: November 2023
MBG is thankful for our wonderful volunteers
With the Thanksgiving Day holiday this week, it is an appropriate time for all of us at Montgomery Botanical Gardens to express our thanks for our volunteers. Without their diligent efforts and faithful service, the gardens would not be the beautiful oasis of nature in this urban area that it is today.
Master Gardeners from the Capital City Master Gardener Association continue to be our main source of volunteers and they come with a great deal of horticultural knowledge that enable them to help us develop and care for the gardens effectively. Karin Carmichael, a member of CCMGA, chairs the MBG Project Committee that created and maintains the circular entrance beds, the three pollinator beds, the bulb garden, the sensory garden, and also helps in all areas of the gardens. We are grateful for her leadership and the committee members who faithfully do their part.
Volunteers from other areas of the community are also of great help to our efforts. Recently a very productive group from Goodwyn, Mills, and Cawood arrived with wheelbarrows, gloves and shovels ready to work In a few hours they finished installing the granite ballast stone edging along the pathways and around garden beds to enhance their appearance and prevent erosion. In addition to the edging, they helped with removing limbs and damaged items from the garden, uncovering a sidewalk that had been covered by soil; and digging holes and planting hundreds of daffodil bulbs. This group that was coordinated by Wheeler Crook are very much appreciated by all of us at the gardens.
Volunteers from the community are vital to the success of MBG. Ethel Boykin, MBG Volunteer Coordinator, will welcome volunteers to perform a variety of tasks that benefit the gardens. Those who are interested in volunteering may visit www.
The Board of Directors of the Montgomery Botanical Gardens wish a very happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
Bulb and Perennial Class was a Great Way to Finish the Year at MBG
A class of about 30 people are well prepared for fall gardening after attending Karen Weber’s presentation on planting bulbs and perennials at Montgomery Botanical Gardens on Saturday, November 4, 2023. This brisk, sunny day was a perfect setting for the outdoor classroom at Wisdom Wood to hold the last class of 2023 in the gardens.
Mrs. Weber discussed the types of bulbs and perennials that grow well in this region and provided useful information on when and where to plant them. She also taught the class about the importance of preparing the soil for optimum growth. Attendees were given a bag of bulbs to take home to practice what they had learned.
The 2024 Calendar of Classes to be held in the gardens will be published by the end of 2023. So watch for the calendar then mark your personal calendars and come to the gardens for the class and to enjoy the beauty and peace of this oasis of nature in the city.
Bulb Planting and Perennials to be Subject of Final 2023 Montgomery Botanical Gardens Class
The final 2023 educational offering for Montgomery Botanical Gardens at Oak Park will be a class on Bulb Planting and Perennials, to be held on Saturday, November 4 in the Wisdom Wood Outdoor Classroom at 10:00 AM. The class will be taught by Karen Weber, a member of the Capitol City Master Gardeners.
Mrs. Weber is a native of the farmland of central Ohio, where she received a degree in Ornamental Horticulture from the Ohio State University. Immediately thereafter, she moved to tropical South Florida, where she felt totally at a loss in the northern Palm Beach County plant world, while working as a gardener for renowned golfer and avid tropical plant collector, Jack Nicklaus.
Thirty years ago, Mrs. Weber and her husband and three children relocated to Montgomery. She worked as a gardener on the private estate of Wynton Blount and later as a gardener at the Shakespeare Garden, located at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival when it was installed in 1999. She was a founding member of the Capitol City Master Gardener Association.
Included in the presentation will be types of bulbs and perennials that grow well in our local climate, as well as information on when and where to plant them. She will also address preparing the soil and how to plant for optimum growth.
The class is free and open to the public. Seating is available, but participants may wish to bring folding chairs for comfort. Water will be available.
The 2024 Montgomery Botanical Gardens Calendar of Classes should be available in late December or early January.
