By the time this article comes out we and most of the garden centers around town will have received our truckloads of pumpkins. Not only good ole orange jack-o-lantern pumpkins but also the weird and warty gourds that are speckled, flat, round, winged and oval. The stacking pumpkins like fairytale, Cinderella, the white Lumina and Turks Turbine are all ready to be displayed for fall. There will be bundles of corn stalks, bales of wheat straw, and chrysanthemums blooming, in other words it’s showtime in Mississippi. It’s fun to start the fall harvest season with some harvest style decorations then let it seep into Halloween later in October. Some of the specialty gourds are real showstoppers and will make your place look great.
Speaking of making your place look great. On Saturday October 5th and Sunday October 6 Fondren will hold it’s 3rd annual Bottle Tree And Garden Tour. This is one of the best tours that the Northside offers. Most of these tours take place in the spring which is great but being able to see fellow gardeners yards in the fall will offer a totally new experience. So many of our perennials don’t begin to have their moments until right about now, plants are fully flushed out unlike the springtime look. Don’t get me wrong I love to see the fresh, just broke dormancy look but the fall look is a great perspective when you are visiting another gardeners space for inspiration. One of the great things about this tour is that the folks that are willing to open up their yards to all of us are as real and unique as the day is long. I recognize most of the names of the kind folks on the list and believe me when I say these are some of Jacksons real gardeners I mean they have been at it for a long time, mostly in their original places.
Older gardens are always interesting to me, they have personalities like pets do. Older gardens have been around for blossoming love, marriage, seen kids grow up around them, seen the kids fly the coup, seen the kids come back to visit a home that feels right to them. Older gardens are very special places and to be able to take a peak in and to meet the folks who have created and raised their gardens through thick and thin is special. Fondren folks are unique as Fondren is unique so the gardens are going to be unique, not themed. You will meet the people who are attracted to this kind of scene, real gardeners, all with different perspectives, views, reasons, energy levels, all unique but somehow all kind of the same at the end of the day.
No matter where you garden you’ve been through some of the same things that all these gardeners have experienced. Ice storms, droughts, floods, pine beetles, wins and failures, fences up, fences down, branches on roofs, good neighbors, bad neighbors, screening. Having these things in common with one another is what makes these tours so easy and relaxed. The folks on this tour have focused on trying to be easy to find and talk stories as people pass through their hearts work. I believe I counted 20 yards on this tour, some iconic Fondren yards that you’ve probably heard of and some secret gardens along the way is part of the purposeful diversity of the tour.
Nellie Neal, The Garden Mama will have her yard available for all to be inspired by which is a real treat and I believe she will do a live remote from 8a to 10a on Saturday.. Some of the Fondren businesses will be participating in the weekend festivities so there will be food and coffees available as you spend your weekend in an area like no other in our state, Fondren has a heart beat and they are proud of it. If you are from out of town or just have not spent much time there except for a quick in and out meal this can be your chance to immerse yourself and join in on the funky side of life. Felder Rushing is from Fondren and made bottle trees famous.
When The Fondren Renaissance Foundation was first conceptualizing the idea of sharing gardening worlds of Fondren they wanted the name to fit the idea. They didn’t want it to seem to high brow or intimidating to anyone that loves gardening, it’s not a fund raiser for a school or a church, instead it is for a community, along with Trustmark and Lakeland Yard And Garden as sponsors, that wants to show their stuff in a real way. The bottle tree and it’s history is an important part of Fondren and a great way to chill the scene like a garden should be. I definitely plan to be one of the lucky ones to be at this event.
I’ve passed by these yards for years wishing I could get in for a peak and hopefully learn a thing about a thing or two. I’m going to gather some friends and spend the weekend getting to know better a place right in my back yard and eat my way through this neck of our woods. We will see and learn a lot about bottle trees and their very interesting history, meet and greet some of Jacksons celebrity gardeners and artists and experience one of Mississippis unique communities right in the middle of Mississippis finest weather months. I can’t imagine anything more fun to do with a weekend in October. Go to the website for all the information about participating vendors, the gardens, times and tickets at Fondren Bottle Tree and Garden Tour.com. Hope to see you there!
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