John Manion, Director of the Kaul Wildflower Garden at the Birmingham Botanicals Gardens, led a guided tour of the gardens for several Chilton County Master Gardeners on April 20. He told us of the history and construction of the Kaul Wildflower Garden and shared great information on native plants and stories that go with many of them. He has started an area of eight plants that are only found in the wild at the Bibb County Glades. We learned the difference between the Bigleaf Magnolia and the Ashe Magnolia, two native deciduous magnolias. Some of the native plants we learned about included Indian pink, trillium, May apples, ferns, yellow root, bluebells, Mt. Laurel, climbing hydrangea and many more. Our group also visited many other areas of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and enjoyed lunch on the terrace. Many thanks go to Sue Webb for planning this tour and for providing the delicious chicken salad sandwiches. Attending were Catherine Williams, Essie Edel, Harriett Jackson, Sue Webb, Sondra Henley, Dianne Clapp, Trisha Williams, and Bonnie and Bill Hairrell. Photos and article by Trisha Williams.
wild flowers
Spring Beauties
Spring is my favorite time of year because of all the native wild flowers that are blooming. I love to walk in the woods and see how many I can identify. There are many online sites that sell wildflowers if you would like to try growing a few. It seems there are many different varieties available for spring shade gardens; not so for summer and fall sun gardens. The most well known for summer and fall is Black-eyed Susan and butterfly weed. Here are some of my spring-blooming flowers, shrubs, and trees.