Category Archives: News

Old Alabama Town Herb Society Meeting

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OLD ALABAMA TOWN HERB SOCIETY
Montgomery, AL
Meeting on Tuesday, July 15, 2014

I would like to invite you to the Tuesday, July 15, 2014 meeting of the Old Alabama Town Herb Society (OATHS). The meeting will start at 6:00 PM with a potluck dinner provided (guests are not expected to bring anything). Dr. Arlie Powell of Petals from the Past will present a special program for us on growing Citrus. Feel free to invite others you may know of who are interested in learning more about growing Citrus. We meet in the Loeb Center of Old Alabama Town (301 Columbus Street, Montgomery) every 3rd Tuesday of the month (except Dec). Our purpose is to learn about herbs and how to use them. We manage 6 gardens–(5 in the historic section of Old Alabama Town and the herb garden at the Governor’s Mansion). Every year on the day before Mother’s Day, we hold Herb Day. We usually have about 400-500 people attending. One of our community service projects is working with T.S. Morris Elementary School in Montgomery. We’re providing a hands-on learning experience to encourage students to learn about herbs and gardening.

If you plan on attending, please use our Contact page to let us know. We look forward to seeing you!

Parking is very convenient in front of the building and under street lights.

Community Service Update June 2014

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Herb Day 2014 Flower

Herb Day 2014 Flower

The last visit of OATHS to T. S. Morris Elementary School for the year was on Friday, 2 May 2014. We helped the students make their own mini-pizzas using pita or flat bread. The red pizza sauce was popular, but the pesto was a real hit. The students could select thinly sliced tomatoes, sweet peppers, mozzarella cheese and any of the fresh herbs as a topping. Many thanks to the lunchroom staff for cooking the pizzas, and next year we’ll be sure to save them some.

Special Note: Many thanks to the art teachers at T. S. Morris Elementary School, Baldwin Magnet, and St. Bede’s for their phenomenal contributions to our Art Show at Herb Day. To the left is one of the metal flowers that T. S. Morris Elementary School shared. They plan on permanently installing them in their school courtyard, and that will make any rainy day glow.

June 2014 in the Gardens

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Between weeding, dead-heading, and watering, the gardens look pretty good. We made sure the irrigation was turned on after Herb Day, as there is nothing worse than setting up for Herb Day at 5 AM, and having the irrigation surprise us all. Please be on the lookout for plants we can use in any of the gardens as the winter was hard on all the gardens.

Oak Grove Inn

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Oak Grove Inn on 27 May 2014. To celebrate May being National Herb Month, OATHS was invited to speak about herbs at Oak Grove Inn in Montgomery at their Assisted Living Facility. We (Kayren Pittman and Jane McCarthy) shared information, anecdotes, and even plants and cuttings. We were invited to visit their phenomenal garden, which proves that once you are a gardener, you are always a gardener. We spoke for about 45 minutes, and we truly enjoyed our visit.

Media Release – Herb Day 2014

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CONTACT: Toni Bourke334-271-6246RELEASE:   IMMEDIATELY

MEDIA RELEASEOATHS_logo1

OLD ALABAMA TOWN HERB SOCIETY

HERB DAY, SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

Herb Day sponsored by the Old Alabama Town Herb Society (OATHS) will be held on Saturday, May 10, 2014 (8:00AM – 3:00 PM) at the Living Block of Old Alabama Town, 301 Columbus Street, Montgomery, Alabama 36104. Enjoy demonstrations, expert gardeners, garden tours, vendors and an abundance of plants. Free Admission.

Herb Day is a fun-filled public educational event for the entire family. It will feature children’s activities, programs by experts on growing herbs, a cooking demonstration using herbs, and a session that explores the medicinal properties of herbs. An open-air market will feature vendors selling crafts, books, food, herbal teas, garden wares and a huge selection of herbal plants. Tempting herbal recipes can be found in the cookbook “Roses and Rosemary, Favorite Recipes of Old Alabama Town Herb Society,” which will be available for purchase along with free tasting samples of selected recipes.

“Amazing Artemisia” is this year’s theme recognizing the attributes of the “Herb of the Year” as designated by the International Herb Society. Debbie Boutelier, President (from Prattville) of the Herb Society of America will present a program on the medicinal properties of herbs, “From Plant to Medicine” and the benefits of Artemisia; Davina McRae of Super Suppers will demonstrate how to cook delectable dishes for an “Herbal Brunch,” and Robert Dean will demonstrate “Growing Alabama’s Wildflowers.”

There will be a special appearance by Davy Crockett and the Tree Lady will be there too. Children’s activities will include an Amazing Artemisia art show by school students from St. Bedes, T. S. Morris, and Baldwin Junior High, and there will be hands-on activities to take home. Plus music in the gardens all day!

Enjoy all of this and more, come spend the day with us in Old Alabama Town. For more information go to oathsblog.com or 334-271-6247.

March 2014 in the gardens

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On Saturday, 22 March several OATHS volunteers gathered to do some spring cleaning in the OAT gardens. Many thanks to Toni Bourke, Ann Hamill, Jane McCarthy, and Virginia Pruitt for starting so early, and for finishing the job. The perennials were trimmed, the weeds pulled, and hopefully the cold weather will be behind us and we can plant our basils. Will keep you posted on whether all three of the satsumas survived our unseasonably cold 11 degree temperatures, but one surely has new growth. Thank goodness!

The Herb Garden at the Governor’s Mansion was cleaned up by Mary Louise Garrett and Carolyn Gomillion. The garden has been overwhelmed by a large pyracantha, and with some judicious tree trimming next week, it will receive the proper amount of sun. Progress for sure.

Again, many thanks to all the volunteers!

Tribute to Judy Youngblood

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Designer and Curator of the Old Alabama Town Herb Garden

Judy Youngblood designed and installed the original OAT Herb Garden on the corner of Hull and Columbus Streets in 1984. Using plants in keeping with the period, and with the help of garden club members, Judy planned and hosted three Herb Days to reintroduce herbs to gardeners and other interested persons. This culminated in the formation of the Old Alabama Town Herb Society in 1996. The OATHS mission was and still is to focus on the use and delight of herbs. Judy served as its first President. Beginning in 2000, OATHS expanded the gardens with four pocket gardens: Doctor, Dye, Scent, and Children’s Gardens. OATHS still maintain these gardens today.

Community Service Update – March 2014

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The OATHS Community Service Project at T.S. Morris Elementary School has only one more meeting in this school year. We have been meeting regularly with Mr. Freeman’s fifth grade class on the first Friday of the month. In February, we planted herb seeds in mini-greenhouses, and in March we discussed water conservation. In April, we hope to make pizza using the herbs we have planted and been tending in the garden and the courtyard containers.

On the Great Day of Service, Saturday, March 15, three OATHS members joined with the T.S. Morris Partners in Education to help spruce up the school. The OATHS volunteers (Carolyn Gomillion, Kayren Pittman, and Jane McCarthy) concentrated on the courtyard containers by cleaning them out and planting more herbs and summer annuals. The newly planted trees in the front of the school were mulched with pine straw, and the raised bed was cleaned out and planted with lettuce and Swiss chard. Many thanks to Ann Oldham, John Taylor, Mr. and Mrs. Neal, Mark, Nate, Isiah, and Mr. Freeman for their valuable help.

January 2014 in the gardens

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As the January weather has dipped into the teens, the gardens look very dormant. In December, they were decorated very nicely for the holidays, but are now waiting patiently for the return of warm weather. In February, we’ll trim back the winter damage, apply some fresh mulch, and then sit back and wait to see how the severe cold has affected the gardens. And don’t forget, Herb Day 2014 is right around the corner, so please check back for more details.

Community Service Update – T.S. Morris Elementary

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Our friends at T.S. Morris Elementary welcomed the Old Alabama Town Herb Society (OATHS) members back on January 10 to meet with Mr. Freeman’s 5th grade class. The visit focused on discussing seeds and how important they are to our lives. OATHS members Toni Bourke and Jane McCarthy worked with the students by creating a fruit salad and talking about the seeds of each fruit used in the salad. The kids were impressed by the avocado seed, but not overly impressed with the taste of the meat. The avocado seeds were placed in water to show the kids how they will sprout. The basil plants from October’s project have all died, so we will plant basil seeds and bring some cuttings for the February project. We’d like to thank all involved and say that we look forward to our next discussion.