Alice’s Garden

(First printed in Druid City Living Magazine, March 2015)

 CREATING ALICE’S  GARDEN

By Octavia Miles

President, Tuscaloosa County Master Gardeners

      The life of a master gardener is never dull or stagnant, and we are never far away from pen and paper to make a project “to do” list.

While our mission is to increase the availability of horticultural information to Alabama’s gardeners and homeowners, we are much more than that.

We play very active roles in our communities—from coordinating plant sales and other events, to seminars, to community service projects.

Kindred spirits join together to complete a goal and to spread the message of enjoying the bounty of our gardens.  Often, the joy of these projects comes in preparation.  Friendships sprout up and memories are created, all while completing a gardening task.

Speaking of that “to do” list, I recently made one for my 2015 project called “Alice’s Garden (in memory of  my late mother who, during the last eight  of her 91 years on  earth, was afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease).

     The chosen area in my backyard was once a bright, sunny spot, but now the trees from my neighbors’ yards have turned it into a location that only receives four hour hours of  sunlight (10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.) with a  slow progression from southeast to northwest.  The  middle portion of  the site gets the best sun.  I’ve labeled the site as  “partial sun with a  side dressing  of shade.”

This isn’t quite what I envisioned for Alice’s Garden, so now I have to revise my graph drawings and  my wish list.  With revisions  comes research, and I have to admit:  the  more pictures in a  gardening book, the better.

One of my  favorite is “Edible Landscaping” by Rosalind Creasy,  along with “Shade: Ideas and Inspiration for Shady Gardens” by Keith Wiley.

I also know that my project will require visits to  my family’s homestead in Troy, along with visits to  the Petals from the Past Nursery in Jemison.

So  far, I’ve added   these  items to my  project’s wish list:

*  A  garden bench (mom’s porch glider, which I’ll paint pale pink)

*  An arbor (test red cascade and Peggy Martin roses)

*  A pathway (pine straw for this year)

*  Containers (mom’s   four large  clay  flower pots from pillars in the front yard’s drive and walkways)

*  Decoration (ironwork from mom’s backyard fence, to add architectural interest and a bit of Troy history)

*  Plants (everything that   is  still living in  mom’s flowerbeds, supplemented by additional ones I’ll research and purchase)

Next on  the list?  Functional  analysis.  What  did  I  want  my  four  siblings, my  two  children,  my three grandchildren, my 12 nieces and  nephews, and my 16 great nieces and  nephews to experience when  they visited my home and  walked outside to see Alice’s Garden?

I  concluded that those who experienced mom’s flowers  through the years in her own gardens would be  touched with precious memories, while those who were born long after mom left Troy and came to live with me in Tuscaloosa would be far removed from my nostalgic gesture.  Therefore, I will have to be certain that Alice’s Garden has something for everyone.

Because of the variation in age groups, I have decided to reserve a special section of the garden for assorted sizes of colorful and decorative pots bearing all of our ancestors’ names.  It will be called “Flower Pot People” in Alice’s Garden.

Do you have a special project you’re  working on  this spring?  Would you like the  Tuscaloosa County Master Gardeners to contribute our efforts?  If  so, contact Neal Hargle, County Extension Agent at (205) 349-4630 or email him at pnh0003@aces.edu.  He and I will get our many knowledgeable master gardeners organized to assist you.