Inaugural Dirt Dash 5K Fun Run/Walk
Junior Board of Birmingham Botanical Gardens presented the inaugural Dirt Dash 5K Fun Run/Walk on November 17. Over 200 runners and walkers competed in various age groups, utilizing the paths and trails of Alabama’s largest living museum. The overall winner Julien Bousquet, who completed the run in 17:48.7. For a complete list of winners in each age group, visit http://championship-racing.com/results/2012/2012-BotanicalGardens-DirtDash5K.htm.
Birmingham Botanical Gardens Joins Reforestation Effort at George Ward Park
On Saturday, October 27, Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens staff members joined the Glen Iris Neighborhood Association and volunteers from Impact Alabama in an effort to replant George Ward Park. Over time, many of the trees in the park have vanished due to mowing. With the support of Little Garden Club and Red Mountain Garden Club, this five-year project continued on Saturday.
Meet the Tastemakers: Karen Luce & Cathy Harvey – The Gallery
Loretta Goodwin opened Loretta Goodwin Gallery in 1982 making it one of the oldest operating art galleries in the Magic City. For over 20 years the gallery has nurtured a passion for art, offering a variety of artistic styles to collectors in not only the Birmingham area, but across the country.
Art captures life sometimes only for a moment – sometimes for centuries – and has a way of imparting certainty to our humanity. It lifts our spirits, nourishes our souls and makes us cherish the sheer awesomeness of our being.
Dirk Walker became the owner in 2002 and has preserved the gallery’s goal of presenting original works of art and fine art graphics which are revered and collected for their artistic integrity.
Meet the Tastemakers: Mary Evelyn McKee – Pied-a-terre
Mary Evelyn McKee has design and artistry in her genes. Painting classes with her grandmother taught her how to really see, and her artist father spurred her talents. “He was so encouraging. I could put two dandelions in a bottle, and he would proclaim it gorgeous. And my mother, an accomplished pianist, taught us tempo and movement to Mozart and Bach,” she says. From her richly artistic upbringing, she studied art history, cusing on decorative arts and architecture at Hollins College.
Her approach is personal, pragmatic and artistic. “When a client is updating, I look for solutions that are timeless, elegant and comfortable. I try to create something fresh and forward-looking, and use personal collections that reflect the individual,” she says. Her style is elegant but not fussy and informed by history yet fresh and surprising. Formulaic design is not in her vocabulary. She seeks the singular piece that creates the frission necessary for dramatic but inviting rooms.
Mary Evelyn began her design enterprise in 1986. Its success led to opening her retail interiors shop offering her signature palette of sunny neutrals and her eye for great design.
Whether in New York, Paris or Birmingham, her interiors shop exhibits designs for a lofty Pied-a-terre with midcentury and contemporary decor. Antiques add frission and gravitas.
Mary Evelyn has been published in Coastal Living, Southern Accents, Elle Decor, Traditional Home and many local publications.
Meet the Tastemakers: Ware Porter
Ware M. Porter’s design aesthetic reflects how we live our lives today. On the forefront of New Traditional design, Ware’s projects have engaged him from the Gulf Coast of Alabama to the Amalfi Coast of Italy. Carefully curated, his laid back and well-lived style is grounded in classical proportions with modern sensibilities.
Learn more about Ware Porter by visiting www.waremporter.com
For more information about Antiques at The Gardens, featuring 12 national and local Tastemakers visit www.bbgardens.org/antiques. There, you can purchase tickets to the show, the lecture and luncheon with Alex Hitz and Gala in The Gardens.
Meet the Tastemakers: Tammy Connor
“Let There Be Light” is a curated selection of home accessories that focuses on lighting. With pieces collected from local and international shopping trips, Tammy combines the old with the new for a timeless look. One-of-a-kind lamps, custom lampshades, sconces, lanterns and pendants, along with custom, in-house designed iron fixtures act as the centerpieces of the space. Tammy adds a touch of refinement by incorporating designer textiles and antique furniture.
Tammy Connor has built her reputation on creating timeless classic interiors infused with a casual Southern elegance. Her attention to detail along with her relaxed approach to formal spaces results in interiors that are sophisticated yet inviting. Seamlessly integrating anqitues, contemporary pieces, personal collections of clients and fabrics of varying textures with subtle yet studied color palette are trademarks of Tammy’s interiors.
She is the principal of Tammy Connor Interior Design, which she founded in Charleston, South Carolina. Her firm has completed comprehensive residential projects throughout the eastern United States ranging from town, country, mountain and beach houses. Her hospitality projects have also included private clubhouses.
Tammy’s work has received both local and national recognition. Most recently, she was awarded the Phillip Trammell Shutze Award for Interior Design by the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art, the Bloggers’ Choice “Ones to Watch” award by ElleDecor and was named one of Traditional Home’s 2012 New Trad Designers. In addition, Tammy has been featured in numerous magazines including Renovation Style, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, Southern Living, Coastal Living, Birmingham Home & Garden and Traditional Home’s online magazine TRADhome.
Tammy is continually inspired by her travels both personally and professionally. While the location and style of the firm’s work is diverse, respect for the architecture and setting of a project is at the heart of Tammy’s interiors. She is consistently dedicated to enhancing the lifestyle of her clients, and she firmly believes that the best interiors are the ones that beckong you to have a seat and stay a while.
Prior to founding Tammy Connor Interior Design, Tammy received degrees in studio art and art history from Wake Forest University, and a degree in Interior Design from The American College of Applied Art. Tammy is a professional member of ASID and a NCIDQ accredited designer.
For more information about Antiques at The Gardens, featuring 12 national and local Tastemakers visit www.bbgardens.org/antiques. There, you can purchase tickets to the show, the lecture and luncheon with Alex Hitz and Gala in The Gardens.
Bog Trotting in Alabama
Hunter McBrayer, Rotary Club of Shades Valley 2012 Intern
Within a few days of beginning my Rotary Club of Shades Valley summer internship with the Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens, I had the pleasure of being invited to accompany Fred Spicer, Executive Director, and John Manion, Kaul Wildflower Garden Curator, at the biannual meeting of Alabama Plant Conservation Alliance (APCA) in Spanish Fort, Alabama. This is an organization with whom The Gardens has been involved since APCA was formed in 2009.
As a recent graduate of The University of Alabama with a degree in Biology, and my primary interest being the conservation of Alabama’s native flora and its habitats, I was thrilled for the opportunity to attend this event and meet several people involved in plant conservation. Knowing that the trip would involve an exploration of one of our state’s unique treasures, Splinter Hill Bog, I was especially excited.
Alabama, partly due to its varied physiography, is the fifth most biodiverse state in the US. We have a high rate of endemism, that is – the number of species that are found naturally occurring only in our state. There are 24 plants endemic to Alabama, several of which I’ve been able to observe and study.
Splinter Hill Bog, a 2,100 acre tract of land near Perdido in Baldwin County, AL, is one of our states many distinct properties managed by The Nature Conservancy.
In addition to is diverse habitats and populations of several fascinating plants, Splinter Hill Bog is perhaps most known as possibly the largest population globally of pitcher plants, the insectiverous (insect-eating) plants in the genus Sarracenia. In addition to wild orchids and other species of insectiverous plants growing there, the most abundant and visually striking of these is Sarracenia leuocophylla, the white-topped pitcher plant. (shown below)
Being predominantly a longleaf pine ecosystem, one of the important ways The Nature Conservancy manages this property is the use of prescribed burns to remove encroaching competitive plants…something that would have occurred naturally in times past.
This outing was one of the most fascinating and eye-opening experiences in which I’ve had the pleasure to participate.
(Director James Horton, Mayor William Bell, Sr., former Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr., former Mayor Bernard Kincaid, Executive Director Fred Spicer)
Arrington Plant Adventure Zone Ribbon Cutting
On Thursday, April 26, Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens gathered with local dignitaries for the ribbon-cutting of the Arrington Plant Adventure Zone. The newest garden at Birmingham Botanical Gardens is an inclusive space that will serve all of the Birmingham community, but will be a new center for Plant Adventures. The garden’s namesake, Dr. Richard Arrington, Jr., joined current Mayor William Bell and former Mayor Bernard Kincaid at the celebration. Birmingham Parks and Recreation Commissioner Larry Cockrell delivered the invocation before District 3 Councilor Valerie Abbott, Plant Adventures Coordinator Jennifer Sanders, Executive Director Fred Spicer and each Birmingham mayor addressed the crowd. Light refreshments were served following the ceremony in the Hodges Room and the Rushton Garden.
(Andrew Krebbs, Tricia Noble, James Horton)
(Larry Cockrell, Richard Arrington, Jr., Fred Spicer)
(Valerie Abbott, Larry Cockrell, Martha Espy)
(Fred Spicer, Richard Arrington, Jr., Valerie Abbott)
(Henry Ray, Tricia Noble, Lou Willie)
(Birmingham Parks and Recreation Commissioner Larry Cockrell, former Mayor Bernard Kincaid, District 3 Councilor Valerie Abbott, former Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr., Mayor William Bell, Sr., Plant Adventures Coordinator Jennifer Sanders, Executive Director Fred Spicer)
As we count down to the ribbon cutting for the Arrington Plant Adventure Zone in April, Plant Adventures Coordinator Jennifer Sanders offers the second installment in an occasional series.
More than once lately, I’ve been caught walking around the Library at Birmingham Botanical Gardens without my boots on. It’s earned me a raised eyebrow from one or two of the circulation desk volunteers. “Aren’t you missing something?” asked one ever-vigilant, ever-diligent soul. And senior librarian Elizabeth Drewery once had a compliment for me. “What lovely socks,” she said (compliments sound even better with an English accent).
The boots in question were parked outside, a few feet from where my office is tucked just inside the library’s back door. I’ve learned to wear the boots every day — after the first time I retrieved something from my supply closet in the construction zone (a.k.a the Arrington Plant Adventure Zone) and came back up to my ankles in red mud. Occasionally, I’ve had to shed them at the door to avoid decorating the library carpet with muddy footprints.
It’s been worth it though. For I’ve had the privilege to watch how the workers have taken a mud pit and created an incredible garden. While they’ve been laying drainage pipes and pouring cement and gingerly transporting trees and shrubs, we’ve undertaken a parallel challenge — building a program consistent with the vision embodied in the new garden.
The concept of universal design governs the construction process in the Arrington Plant Adventure Zone. It’s the notion that you can create a space that works for everybody. The most oft-cited example is curb cuts in sidewalks. The same curb cut that works for a person using a wheelchair or a rolling walker also works for the parent pushing a stroller, the airport-bound executive pulling a wheeled suitcase, or the child riding a bicycle.
The Arrington Plant Adventure Zone will be the first (but not the last) space at The Gardens built according to the principles of universal design. With Plant Adventures, we aim to put those principles in practice in our programs as well. We want everyone to find a place to participate.
4. Ginger and Charles Clark – 2825 Canterbury Road, Birmingham, AL
Designed and maintained by: Ro Holman (landscape designer, front garden hardscape) and Laurie Allen (softscape)
The Clark Garden is a seamless blend of the styles preferred by the homeowners. He prefers a more manicured look which is expressed in the stately terrace and elegant plantings in front. She prefers a more liberal approach, utilizing unusual plant materials with contrasting colors in the back gardens, where herbs and unusual vegetables cavort with espaliered fruits and shrub borders.
