A GARDEN TOUR IN SELMA

Real gardeners are passionate about what they do. So are historic preservationists. When you put the two together, you have a gung ho bunch of folks. The two go together in Selma, Alabama for the Pilgrimage Weekend, but with a different twist. They saw historic places, but they were looking at the bushes, the bulbs and the bones of the gardens.

I am a born again gardener. I have always loved flowers – picking and arranging them, but only in the past few years has that translated into a passion for growing them. I have three friends that influenced my rebirth into gardening. They all had gardens that they loved tending. Just seeing these three doing the care and feeding of the garden awakened something in me. I decided to try it. Fortunately, I live in an old house with good dirt, so it worked. Last summer’s drought made me have second thoughts about flower gardening, but here it is spring and I have the fever again. Naturally, I signed on for the tour.

This time of the year is the season of transition. We have a lovely late winter flowering time. Nothing is more beautiful than a camellia bush. I think the play should have been Steel Camellias instead of magnolia. Camellias look so fragile, but they are so tough. They will last for generations with very little care. We saw some great ones on the tour. They are so common. That they weren’t even considered a focal point. There were bulbs by the hundreds, too. We call it naturalized when they go wild on a hillside. They were naturalized all over the place.

We, of course, visited historic landmarks. We started at the Episcopal Church. We toured the church and saw Tiffany stained glass windows designed by local artist Claire Weaver Parrish, who worked for Tiffany at the turn of the 20th century. We then visited the Live Oak Cemetery where we were entertained by Alabama’s Storyteller, Kathryn Tucker Windham. She laughs when someone asks her to speak to a garden tour. She is not a gardener per se, but she spins great tales about people who are. She actually does have a garden now, shared with her neighbor, artist “Tin Man” Charlie Lucas. They have a vegetable garden that is full of Charlie’s metal sculptures. We heard her family stories and then toured the cemetery, hearing about the interesting people buried there. My favorite grave was that of Mary Todd Lincoln’s sister Elodie who smuggled medical supplies from Washington back to Selma for the Confederacy. She was finally banned from the White House as a result. The life sized statue at her grave is supposed to be a likeness. If it is, she was a lot prettier then her sister.

We toured Keenan’s Mill historic site and had a picnic there. We also toured an antebellum garden owned by the same family as well as “Miss Libba’s” garden that she started when she left the old house and built a new one twenty five years ago. She said the garden just evolved over time. She never meant to have one so big, but she had a passion for plants and a good yard man, so the garden just grew. I have included several pictures of her gardens as well as some of the antebellum house and Keenan’s Mill. All this was arranged by Gery Anderson, a local dentist with a passion for preservation and his home town of Selma.

We ended the tour at Sturvidant Hall, Selma’s official mansion. The gardens there are being lovingly restored by volunteers.

I came home with a renewed conviction that I love rural Southwest Alabama’s climate. We have already had one great flowering season and are getting ready for another. I’d feel cheated if I lived somewhere that the ground didn’t thaw ‘til early June. I love all the seasons of the garden and look forward to them all – we’ve got at least three more this year. Come see for yourself. Now would be a good time. The wisteria is coming into its own. It is as prolific as genteel kudzu. It escaped from many old house places and has blanketed the woods. In fact, over the next year or so, I’m going to map out a wisteria trail through the region. I can look out my window right now and see it. It is lavender and lovely dancing in the treetops.

Historic Mills

There are three historic Mills in our area of rural Southwest Alabama that would make a great weekend tour. They are located in Dallas County north of Selma. Folsom (11 miles west of Marion on Hwy 14) and north of Beatrice in rural Monroe County.
Keenan’s Mill in Dallas County is owned by the Historical Society. It has been lovingly restored and is open by appointment. The Dallas County Chamber of Commerce has all the details. You can see corn or wheat ground there in a -hands on experience. They also have music on the lawn in early summer. It started out as bluegrass music, but has expanded to include other kinds. This is a water driven mill. It does not have the big water wheel outside the building, but a more efficient operation that turns under the building.
Holmestead Farm is the place in Folsom to see a grist mill. It is housed in an old store museum. Holmestead is owned by the Holmes family. It is the oldest continually operating farm in the State of Alabama. In addition to the store museum, it has a variety of outbuildings, including a dairy and a cotton gin. There are many antique farming implements and tractors housed in some of the buildings. This is an authentic agricultural experience that could take several hours to explore if you ask a lot of questions.
The third mill is Rickard’s Mill in Monroe County. It is open seasonally from April to October. In April, the opening has a day of music and grinding of flour and meal. It ends in October with the Cane Syrup Festival where syrup is made on the spot with you watching and then purchasing the fresh syrup to take home.
If I were planning a weekend to take in all three sites, I would start at the south end with Rickard’s Mill on Friday. I would spend the night in Monroeville, heading for the Monroe County Courthouse Museum early after I had finished my breakfast at the Sweet Tooth Bakery right across the street. I would then head to Rickard’s Mill with a brief stop at Finklea’s Store to buy myself an authentic already seasoned iron skillet. I’d also buy some Monroeville Sausage while I was there to cook in the skillet.
I’d visit Rickard’s Mill, then head on to Camden where I’d eat a late lunch at Uncle Redd’s place where they cook up fresh soul food. Right across the street, I’d visit the Black Belt Treasures gallery of local art and handmade items. I would catch to last ferry to Gees Bend in the afternoon just for the fun of the ride. I’d meander along the back roads out of the Bend to hit Highway 5 and then 22 into Selma. I would spend the night at the historic St. James Hotel. I would also have dinner there, or venture off the beaten path to the Tally Ho that started out as a dinner club in the 1920s. They still have good food, especially, the steaks that they are known for.
The next day, I’d get up early and head out on Hwy 14 for Marion to have breakfast at the Kountry Kitchen. They serve an ample country breakfast that will hold you over well into afternoon. Holmestead Farms has a website, so presumably, you have made an appointment to see it. I would take the time to drive around a little bit in both Selma and Marion to see the architecture. You will pass right through Marion to get to Holmestead Farms. After touring Holmestead Farms, you can either head back to Marion to spend the night at one of their 4 Bed and Breakfasts. You can have dinner either at the Gateway Inn on Hwy 5 or downtown at Lottie’s, enjoying either place.

If you must head home, at least you will take with you a bit of the Black Belt in the sacks of corn and grits you found at the mills.
Here is an easy grits recipe to try at home that will bring you back for more stone ground grits – guaranteed!

SALSA GRITS (a new twist on an old favorite)

½ c grits cooked according to package directions, replacing 1 cup of the water with 1 cup of salsa.
When the grits are thick and tender, add 8 oz of cream cheese melted in.
Serve hot as a side dish for any meat dish, or as a vegetarian entrée.

EASTER WEEK IN THOMASVILLE

In the exact center of rural Southwest Alabama sits the little town of Thomasville. It is not an old Black Belt Town with pretensions of grandeur and a glorious past to reflect on. It is a plain little town that grew up around the railroad track. It is getting prettier since the downtown revitalization that has caused a resurgence of interest in it. The interest has grown so much that even people who used to say “When a downtown is dead, you aught to bury it” have come around and are taking pride in how it looks.

Four years ago a new United Methodist preacher came to town that has a wife who was a drama major in college. Some of the theatrical influence rubbed off on him. He has built what was a good enough local church Passion Play into a big theatrical production. He even invited the Baptists to participate this year. They did! This is big news since they barely spoke to the Methodists (religiously speaking) for a number of years when they had a preacher who did not believe in mixing the denominations. Having them involved this year was a giant step for church relations. Besides, they have a lot of good singers to complement the Methodists’ good actors. Their choir is bigger, too.

The production was so good this year, it played both Saturday and Sunday nights to packed houses. It is a three act play that starts in the fellowship hall, winds outside to the courtyard and ends up in the sanctuary with Golgotha’s crosses. The grand finale is Jesus ascending into heaven by means of a borrowed forklift. It all works. The crowd rises to its feet at the end and cheers for the Son of God. Next year, Brother Phil, the preacher says the production will be staged in the brand new Thomasville Civic Center, with all local churches participating. We believe it will become as well known regionally as the Moundville Sunrise Service was in its day.

This event was just the kick off to the Holy Week Festivities. I’m sorry I didn’t write about it last week so that you could have some. To be quite frank with you, we really didn’t have room this year because the United Methodists’ fellowship hall was filled to capacity for both performances. The tickets were free, but you had to have a ticket to get in. Next year with the Civic Center in operation, they should have more tickets available. It is something to see. The theatrics are well done and the music is excellent for a local production. It reminded me of what the locals always say about Fred Kimbrough’s productions in Gilbertown “I can’t believe these are local people!”
The other Holy Week Activities included a Maundy Thursday Service at 6:00, a Cross Walk through downtown Thomasville on Friday at 11:00 am (the Stations of the Cross) which ends on top of the hill at the Methodist Church, a drive through of the Crucifixion on Friday evening behind the United Methodist Church from 7:00-9:00, a family Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday at Gates Drive Park at 2:00 pm, and of course every church in town will be having a big service on Sunday. If you plan to be at Sunday services, you better get there early as many local people who do not attend but twice a year will come out for that. My take on this particular subject is not the same one that preachers who at mad at the low crowds on the next Sunday will be. I say “Glad to have you, come join the celebration.” That’s the same thing the folks of Thomasville will say to you.