My Southern Heirloom Garden

A few years ago the old birthplace home of a former Ala Governor, James E. Folsom "Big Jim", was moved from the country to downtown Elba, with plans to restore it. It's still sitting there waiting for someone to "save it". A large granite marker is in the front yard. 

In the meantime, the Woodmen of the World Lodge 1932 members took on a community project of  planting a front yard garden, putting plants in it that would have been growing here in the early 1900's when Folsom was a child living there. I volunteered to chair this committee and designed the garden.  I have so many old varieties of plants growing there now, "pass alongs" from friends and old houses in the country.

Last week I worked in the flower garden, getting it ready for a tour on May 15th during Farm-City week tour, an annual event in Coffee County where people from Ft Rucker are invited to meet with farm and city people for lunch and tour certain areas of the county. This year they are having lunch at the Smith's Red Barn in Elba and then they'll be taken on a tour of the area.

First off, the area in front of the old Folsom home has a black plastic barricade in front of the wrought iron fence, placed there while a new sidewalk is being installed. The guests won't be able to come inside the fence to see the flowers up close. That's good because you know what happened last week while we were on a trip to Texas - the city workers cut the grass behind the house and the levee, and brought their weed eater inside the fenced front yard, and cut down all the flowers except some big bushes and roses on the fence. Gone are my beautiful day lilies, black eyed Susans, coreopsis, shasta daisies, hibiscus, etc. etc. I was horrified Friday when I went to take a look to see what was blooming. I was more than angry and those who know me won't believe I was angry as I can always rationalize behaviors when people do things I don't like. But not this time.....

The antique pale pink climbing roses are in full bloom and I just pray that they will still have some blooms on them come Friday. The chinquapin rose in the corner of the fence has lots of buds so maybe those sweet little roses will be opened up and they can see those. That's all I will have to show- just roses.  I had prepared a brochure to hand out to the guests, listing the 51 plant varieties they would have seen if they had not been cut down!

The nice wrought iron fence was welded and installed by the welding class at Elba High School in 2005. It's great for holding up the long canes of the climbing roses.

The Folsom House was put on the endangered list of Places in peril in Ala 2009. So far nobody has come forth to help restore it. I thought perhaps the Folsom family might be interested. Jim Folsom's son, Jim Jr. is currently Lt Gov of Alabama. You would think he would like to have is grandparent's home restored.

In the meantime, I'll keep tending the old Southern Heirloom garden. I will put up a sign for workers "please do not cut anything in the front yard". And also talk to the caretaker "boss" tomorrow so  maybe this won't happen again.

By the way, the old home is on the Ala. Historical list, placed there in 1976 by the brother of Big Jim Folsom, while it was still located about 15 miles from Elba in the country.