Granite Garden Sculpture by Jesus Morales
Click here to view the photo gallery of this garden.
The formal entrance to The Gardens stretches from the parking lot arbor in the east, across the entrance road, under the bridge that links the Garden Center with the Belvedere, and up to the Color Bowl, a raised octagonal planter, to the west. Interesting plants can be seen at both ends and the middle. Anchoring the east is a great specimen of the contorted filbert, also known as Harry Lauder’s walking stick. To the west, shrub and perennial plantings highlight the “Moon Tree”, a large American sycamore that, as a seedling, orbited the moon on Apollo 14 in 1976. Next to this area is the Salvia Border, planted with hardy and tender types of ornamental sage, a favorite of hummingbirds.
The Blount Plaza was designed by Charles Greiner and Alex Vare, and named for Frances D. Blount in honor of her fund raising efforts for garden renovations. It was dedicated in 1988 and welcomes visitors every day of the year with colorful containers and planters filled with rotating displays of bright winter pansies and spring bulbs, and lush tropicals in summer and fall. During day and evening special events, the plaza is transformed into a vibrant, multi-use, activity-filled space. Commanding center stage is Granite Garden, by Jesus Moroles (1988), a sculpture of red granite in three parts. The ranks of rectangular uprights along the road symbolize human relationships; the rectangular uprights set in a rough circular field suggest human/nature interactions; the sinuous fountain shapes represent nature without bounds.
This important, human-scaled work was funded by Arnold and Rose Steiner, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Lettuce
Click here to view the photo gallery of this garden.
Vegetables have been a part of The Gardens since 1973, but in the late 1980’s what was once a modest display grew to generous proportions, thanks to support from Bruno’s, Inc., an upscale regional supermarket chain. Throughout the year, plantings of both typical and unusual culinary vegetables are grown, tended and harvested: in winter, cool-weather crops such as kale, cabbages, broccoli, and turnip and collard greens can be seen; spring features snow and sweet peas, lettuce, kohlrabi and onions; summer brings ripe tomatoes, peppers, squash and eggplants; and in the fall the okra towers and the pumpkin swells. Vine-shaded pergolas offer visitors a place to relax, and Frank Fleming’s Hare Wearing a Collar, the larger-than-life rabbit sculpture donated by Bill Ireland and Pauline Carroll, amuses children of all ages.
The Bruno Vegetable Garden was designed by Mary Carolyn Boothby, Jody H. Hamre and Carolyn D. Tynes, and illustrates numerous plants, ideas and techniques for the home vegetable gardener. In addition, thousands of local school children who come to The Gardens’ on Discovery Field Trips learn important lessons about where their food comes from. With plantings of cotton, soybeans and peanuts, we introduce them to the groundbreaking work of Alabama native son Dr. George Washington Carver. Our gardening efforts feed the hungry through Magic City Harvest, a local non-profit agency that coordinates food distribution to those in need, so please don’t help us harvest!
Milletia reticulata
Click here to view the photo gallery of this garden.
Just east of the Bruno Vegetable Garden is the Enabling Garden, whose numerous features were designed to make gardening a comfortable experience for those with physical disabilities. Like many of our gardens, this one is wheelchair accessible, but it also has raised planting beds and window box-type planters that eliminate the need for bending and stooping. The water-conserving plastic containers are on wheels to eliminate lifting while allowing design flexibility; hanging baskets are attached with pulleys for easy access.
For years, the Enabling Garden has supported our Horticulture Therapy program. Ample scientific evidence shows that this therapy improves manual dexterity and provides excellent low-impact exercise for those suffering from many types of disabling illnesses. In addition, the acts of planting, growing, propagating and nurturing plants provide valuable psychological benefits. Our instructors work with multiple sclerosis patients, among others, to tend the Enabling Garden and to propagate plants here and in the Conservatory. The fruits of their efforts are sold in the Gatehouse Gift Shop, whose proceeds return to The Gardens.
Metasequoia glyptostroboides
Click here to view the photo gallery of this garden.
Spreading out in front of the Conservatory is the Formal Garden, designed by Tommy Holcombe and Kerry Wood. The large, oval central greensward is a haven for sun lovers, and provides a majestic setting for the glasshouses and the1995 Chenoweth entrance to the Conservatory beyond. That feature was designed by Jay Starbuck and included modifications to the Hammond clock*, where the hours are designated by quaint Frank Fleming animal sculptures. The surrounding Cabaniss Walk, a crushed stone path, is a favored route for walkers and joggers. The walk is lightly shaded by a double allee of crape myrtles that add their brilliant yet delicate flowers from mid-summer through early fall. At the northern end, a large Metasequoia glyptostroboides, dawn redwood, adds its grandeur to this elegant space.
This garden is most often seen from the entrance road, through the elegant wrought iron Queen’s Gates and across Wade Walk. The former were designed by the late George Gambrill in 1988 and given by Lura Fowlkes Lanier in memory of her mother, Lura Brown Fowlkes; the latter forms the east-west axis. Bordered by these gates and a high stucco wall, the Formal Garden is dominated along its north-south axis by two fountains; the north fountain was given by Everett Holle in memory of Evelyn Hughes Holle, and the south was given in memory of Juliet Perry Dixon by her children and grandchildren. In both locations, water cascades out of large iron urns, splashing and echoing into pools below and adding the pleasant sound of water to the adjacent plazas and seating areas. Several times each year, this grand garden provides a spectacular setting for concerts given by the Alabama Symphony. The southwest entrance of the Formal Garden was given in loving memory of Marie Dawkins Bodenhausen by her family and friends and dedicated in 1993.
Anemone sp.
Click here to view the photo gallery of this garden.
This small-scale garden is full of ideas for the homeowner. It demonstrates the important design principle of bloom sequence, illustrated with small trees, shrubs and perennials; it shows that with careful plant selection many things are possible. The walk is paved and edged with tumbled interlocking concrete pavers, which offer a beautiful and affordable surface that is relatively easy to install for do-it-yourselfers. They are laid without concrete and are available at home improvement stores. Note also how the grading and mounding of the earth enhances the feeling of enclosure.
The Forman Garden was dedicated in 2003, and was given to honor James Forman Jr. by his family. It was designed by Louise “Weesie” Smith and features a palette strong in Alabama native plants. These include serviceberry, silverbell, sourwood, clethra, butterfly weed, catchfly, three species of deciduous azaleas and the uncommon white redbud. Plants from other nativities were also employed and include Japanese plum, pearlbush and several dwarf varieties of boxwood. Seasonal flowers are rotated faithfully and combined skillfully to create blooming interest virtually every day of the year.
Gaillardia sp.
Click here to view the photo gallery of this garden.
Click here to view the Garden Guide PDF brochure for this garden.
On a sunny hillside above the Bruno Vegetable Garden sits the Herb Terrace, lovingly tended by our local Herb Association. The raised and terraced beds overflow with collections of culinary, medicinal, aromatic and cosmetic herbs. This is a garden where visitors are encouraged not to pick – but to “scratch n’ sniff” and experience the scent-sational world of herbs. Herbs are easy to grow in the southeastern climate and this garden features old favorites like rosemary and thyme, as well as exotic fragrances and tastes of faraway cultures and lands. Displays are changed every spring, and late summer offers the broadest of trans-continental experiences, but this garden offers subtle interest through the year.
Although rustic in appearance, this garden is a good example of exactly how herb gardens should be designed. First, the cross-tie planters have been amended with a well-drained soil blend so the roots of the herbs – many of which are from much drier climates – don’t rot in our moist winters. Second, the terraces face due south and are virtually shade-free, maximizing the amount of light on the plants. Third, the garden has good “air drainage”; breezes freely move up, down and across it, drying foliage and lessening the chances of fungal problems. Lastly, a relaxing seating area on the uppermost brick terrace takes in the view.
Ireland Gazebo
Click here to view the photo gallery of this garden.
This stylish garden acts as an architectural extension of the Garden Center, as elegant limestone staircases wind down from the bridge and Belvedere above and link building elements to the garden below. Given in memory of Nelson Page and Maye Leigh Hill by their daughter Jane Hill Head and their four grandchildren, the Hill Garden also acts as an activities area. Since its dedication in 1989, weddings, receptions and parties of all types have been held in this popular area, with its slate, crushed stone and scored concrete paving, bosquets of trees and shrub borders*. The Hill Garden was designed by Edah Grover and Lois Harrison.
Fine appointments grace this garden from end to end. Symmetrical lines of Chaste Trees line the central lawn panel that leads to the Kayser Lily Pool and Cochran Water Wall beyond. The former feature acts as a mirror to the water wall and is planted seasonally with fragrant tropical water lilies and other aquatic plants. It was given by Simmie and Leo Kayser, Jr. The latter punctuates the view from the Belvedere and is the focal point looking north. Sheets of water cascade down the black slate wall and frame a sculpture of great blue herons, Interlude (Gary Price, 1991); lush seasonal plantings dance at their feet. The sculpture was donated by Katherine Ireland and the water wall by the children and grandchildren of George and Margaret Cochran, in their memory.
Below the Belvedere, the focal point looking south is Nike (Winged Victory) (Cordray Parker 1991). A deconstructed contemporary interpretation of the Greek goddess, this striking sculpture was donated by Edgar and Margot Marx and their children, in memory of Simon Kessler, Margot’s father. The focal point looking east is a glass-roofed, century-old Amdega gazebo from England**. Lovingly restored by Robinson Iron of Alexander City, Alabama, this structure links the building lines of the neo-Classical Garden Center with the more modernistic Conservatory. It was given by Mallie and Glenn Ireland, II, in honor of Katherine Ireland. To the west, wrought iron gates designed by the late George Gambrill lead to the Rose Gardens beyond. They were donated by the Naughton and Mauldin families in memory of their parents.
torii Gate in the Fall
Click here to view the photo gallery of this garden.
Officially opened by the Japanese Ambassador to the United States in 1967, this 7.5-acre site is actually an interwoven collection of gardens built in the Japanese style, replete with traditional architectural and garden elements. Here you can find the tea garden, the karesansui garden with its meditative compositions of boulders set amidst a bed of raked gravel, the hill and stream garden* with features such as the Seven Virtues Waterfall, and the small stroll garden set around Long Life Lake. Casual visitors will want to study the colorful koi, relax in the lakeside rest shelter, peruse the bonsai house** or take a class at the pavilion. Plant lovers will enjoy exploring bamboo groves†, examining our growing collection of momiji – the Japanese maples – and seeing prehistoric dawn redwoods.
Designed by Mr. Masaji “Buffy” Morai, the Japanese Gardens officially opened in 1967 and have been one of BBG’s most popular features since then. Largely through the hard work and guidance of volunteer Doug Moore, major modifications to a large part of the gardens were finalized in 1993 when the Japanese government gave it the title of Japanese Cultural Center. That important designation was made because Mr. Kazunori Tago, of Maibashi, Japan, one of the finest miyadaiku, or Japanese temple and shrine builders, created a traditional tea house here. Toshinan, whose name means, “the house where those gathered can light a wick [of understanding] in each other’s hearts”, is a 16th-century Sukiya-style tea house, made completely from materials brought from Japan and built using only traditional tools and techniques. There are fewer than a dozen such structures in the United States, and none are finer than Toshinan††. An adjacent yoritsuki, or waiting hut, was also designed and built by Tago-san, completing the tea garden structures. Materials were donated by the citizens of Maibashi and additional funding was provided by the Shades Valley Council of Garden Clubs and Gardens of Inverness; the yoritsuki was dedicated in honor of Eva Woodin Gambrell. Members of the Japanese Garden Society of Alabama assist with maintenance of the tea house and in cultural and educational programming.
The Japanese Gardens are entered through a spectacular curved-top torii, or “gate to heaven”, painted a traditional bright red. This area was renovated and the master plan updated in 1988 through funds given by the Drummond Company in memory of Elza Stewart Drummond. Down the path from the torii, a tile-capped mud wall is punctuated by the entrance to the Cultural Center: the Taylor Gate, given by Dr. Wendell Taylor, with its heavy, yet intricately joined, wooden timbers. Across the stream from the tea house sits the Japanese Cultural Pavilion, which is based on the design of a rural Japanese theater. Three sides of the pavilion are removable, facilitating seasonal open air activities like classes such as sushi-making, performances such as martial arts demonstrations, and many other aspects of Japanese culture.
A recent update of the master plan for the Japanese Gardens was completed by Zen Associates of Sudbury, Massachusetts. The firm’s principal landscape architects, Shinichiro Abe and Peter White, have an intimate knowledge of Japanese garden design and construction, and as their company’s name suggests, it is their sole specialty.
* This feature is currently non-operational.
** Please do not touch the trees. This area is monitored for security purposes.
† Closed during April and May to allow new growth.
†† Please enjoy at a distance. This area is monitored for security purposes.
January view of Garden
Click here to view the photo gallery of this garden.
Uphill to the west of the Curry Rhododendron Garden lays the Little Ones’ Memory Garden, which was dedicated in October 2005. This is a unique, meditative garden, where the elements of gardens and of nature come together to help heal the grief caused by the loss of a loved one, such as a child. Led by Virginia Millet, the Little Ones’ Memory Garden Committee oversaw fund raising and garden development. This group is composed of dedicated volunteers, including a number of peri- and neo-natal nurses representing area hospitals, as well as parents.
Designed by Richard Hartlage of DietzHartlage Associates of Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, the garden functions as a gathering space for groups from one to two hundred. Five “memory walls” provide seating options and define “rain gardens” behind each one. During periods of high precipitation, water collects in these areas, rather than quickly running off into storm drains; plants that prefer moister sites thrive in these created microclimates. Plantings encircle the central lawn area and will mature to complete an enclosed space. To more strongly relate to adjacent gardens, ferns and rhododendrons are featured in the plantings, which also include trees, flowering shrubs and other herbaceous perennials. This garden was funded by numerous private donors and Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
Begonia evansii
Click here to view the photo gallery of this garden.
Beth McReynolds was the doyenne of Birmingham floral designers and the arbiter of a style she helped to define and popularize. Blending English and Japanese elements with popular plants of the south, she nurtured countless pupils and her style still has many dedicated followers. Designed by the late George Gambrill and dedicated in 1981, the original McReynolds Garden was dismantled to make way for construction of the Blount Education Wing of the Garden Center in 1998. Shortly thereafter, it was relocated to its current location, a wooded area just south of the Southern Living Garden, and rededicated to her memory in May 2005.
Jody Hamre and Dexter Hambaugh designed the new McReynolds Garden, which again prominently features the plants she used in her arrangements. Many visitors will recognize the fragrant Florida Leucothoe, variegated Japanese Aucuba, Sasanqua Camellia, evergreen Azaleas and French hybrid Hydrangeas. Unusual plants, too, found their way into her creations and into her garden, and here you’ll also see Chinese Fringeflower, Stewartia, Fatsia and Japanese Holly Fern. The plants are set out in mixed drifts along a gently curved Bessemer gray brick walk. A small stone terrace incorporates a reflecting pool with antique statuary, adding an architectural note to the wonderfully human-scaled and naturalistic space. Funding for this project was provided by Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Just outside the garden’s entrance sit the finely crafted, wrought iron Lawler Gates, designed by Jim Cooper and given in 1987 by Stanley D. and Sandra Goode Lawler in memory of their fathers.
Water Feature in Rushton Garden
Click here to view the photo gallery of this garden.
Originally a European-style garden in front of the Garden Center, designed in 1987 by noted landscape architect Robert Zion, and given by Colonel William James Rushton in memory of Elizabeth Perry Rushton. In 1999, the addition of the Blount Education Wing to the Garden Center necessitated its relocation and a style change. Funded by Billy and LaVona Rushton, the new Rushton Garden saw the late Mr. Zion return to conceive one of his last creations. Here he crafted a beautiful garden that weaves together naturalistic plantings and water features with a crushed stone courtyard and curving stone walls, producing a lush, secluded and casual retreat.
The Rushton Garden provides beautiful and serene views from the Botanical Gardens Library and, located just outside that lobby, makes a great place for reading as the rushing sounds of the cascading waters drown out the surroundings. The gravel courtyard with its café seating is shaded by Dura-Heat® River Birches, and the finely-crafted, adjacent stone wall doubles as a more informal bench. The Rushton Garden is a beautiful setting for small outdoor events and may be reserved as part of the Hodges Room in the Garden Center.
Border Garden in Southern Living Garden
Click here to view the photo gallery of this garden.
Established in 1977, the only public garden that showcases Southern Living – the largest regional magazine in America – is divided into several outdoor rooms that offer countless ideas for homeowners. In one area, a flagstone terrace and seat wall offer a peaceful retreat near a serene pool where the beautiful Echo, (James Barnhill, 1992) admires her reflection. This lifelike and graceful bronze was given in honor of Emory Cunningham upon his retirement from Time, Inc. Nearby, a vast planting of Helleborus orientalis, Lenten Rose, under Cornus mas, Cornelian Cherry Dogwood, dramatically kicks off the bloom season in late winter.
Just across an adjacent path, the Southern Living Flower Border, recently re-designed by Mary Zahl in 2002, features vivid season-long color provided by perennials, annuals and foliage plants along a curved stone wall. Genesis (Chris Ramsey, 2000), dedicated in honor of former Southern Living editor Gary McCalla in 2001, adds a contemporary sculptural note as it gracefully emerges from the luxuriant plantings that peak in late summer and early fall. Opposite, the cleverly designed wall provides a backdrop for a shrub border featuring the Southern Living Plant Collection from Monrovia Nurseries. Designed by Norman Johnson in 2001, this area also features a secluded lawn area in front that is a favorite place for sun lovers.
At the back of the garden, the Emory Cunningham Native Azalea Walk, also designed by Norman Johnson, was dedicated to that distinguished president of the Southern Progress Corporation in 2001. Here, large specimens of hybrid and Alabama native azalea species, such as Alabama Azalea, Piedmont Azalea, and Florida Flame Azalea, add their stunning colors and intoxicating fragrances to the spring experience. The larger plants were given by The Gardens at Callaway, also to honor Mr. Cunningham. Other unusual native plantings, including Dwarf Fothergilla and the rare Loblolly Bay complete the scene and frame a circular stone pool and fountain. A stylish slate-roofed gazebo provides seating nearby and offers views to the lush surroundings. The Southern Living Garden is maintained by the Southern Progress corporation, and is photographed extensively for use in their numerous and popular publications.
Entrance to Thompson Enthusiast's Garden
Click here to view the photo gallery of this garden.
This small space across from the Enabling Garden illustrates how all the essential parts of a garden can be incorporated into a modest area, in this case, one resembling the backyard of a suburban or urban townhouse. The symmetrical design features large ‘Natchez’ Crape Myrtles for canopy, hedges of Yaupon, Ternstroemia and ‘Foster #2’ Holly for enclosure and small herbaceous borders for color. Wooden fences, brick pillars and brick walks add structural elements. Utilitarian features include a compost bin, coldframe and a small toolhouse that are all fully integrated into the overall design.
Designed in 1987 by the team of Mary Carolyn Boothby, Jody Hamre and Carolyn D. Tynes, the Enthusiast Garden was a gift to Lucille Ryals Thompson from her husband Hall and their five children. Initially, espaliered dwarf fruit trees and small vegetable plots took advantage of the ample sun here. With time, surrounding trees and those in the garden have grown and shade has increased; the fruits and vegetables have given way to more appropriate and shade-tolerant annuals, perennials and evergreen groundcovers, illustrating the dynamic nature that is central to all gardens.
