By Emily Williams
A few weeks ago, while the greater Birmingham area was still in stay-at-home mode, the small community garden on the Emmet O’ Neal Library lawn in Mountain Brook’s Crestline Village was abuzz.
Dubbed the Better Late Than Never garden, it is a pollinator garden, featuring plants that attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, caterpillars and other creatures.
The name is inspired by its seasonal maintenance, which is conducted by Oak Street Garden Shop’s shop manager, Kris Blevons.
Blevons, who has been with Oak Street for 29 of its 30 years in operation, said planting schedules and maintenance depend totally on how busy she is at the shop.
The history of the small garden began in about 2010, when Oak Street owner Billy Angell approached Emmet O’Neal Library staff with the idea to create a community garden on the lawn as part of the annual Summer Reading Kickoff. The lawn is situated between the library and the garden shop.
“They had to go to city council, and city council approved it,” said Blevons. “Because he got the city council approval, he laid out the beds and measured.”
Blevons noted that Angell is quite particular about bed measurements, but his initial set-up has since gone wild.
For the first three summers, Blevons estimates, kids helped plant vegetables and other plants in late spring and early summer.
“But it’s so hot over there,” she said. “I think the second time around we tried to put some tents up over there, but it just kind of dwindled off.”
After a summer or two of the garden’s beds lying empty, Blevons approached Angell with an idea to create a pollinator garden.
“I grew up with gardening,” Blevons said. “My whole family, we’re all very much interested in plants.”
The idea was inspired by the wild gardens on her parent’s property in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, near the Rock River.
“You could have a pollinator garden in something as small as a pot on your stoop,” she said. “It’s just something that attracts insects.”
Intended garden patrons could range from birds and bees to ants, so Bevons said steering clear of harmful pesticides is paramount.
“It really needs to kind of take its course,” Blevons said. “You can’t be someone who gets upset if you have a few holes in your leaves, because it’s not always going to be the prettiest, but that’s because you have life there.”
Since Blevons began working with insect-attracting plant life, she has seen a quite noticeable growth of life, especially more birds visiting the space and “tons more honey bees.”
“I think there must be hives somewhere around here, too,” Blevons said.
Celebrating in a Pandemic
Oak Street is celebrating its 30th anniversary year during a pandemic. Because garden shops are considered essential businesses, Blevons has spent much of the quarantine doing a socially distant “dance” between plants and visitors while outfitting both seasoned and new gardeners with materials to complete gardening projects to pass their newfound free time.
She and Angell have noticed not only plenty of shoppers during the pandemic, but plenty of brush piles collecting along the streets of their surrounding neighborhoods.
“This is something that is just really good for the soul,” she said. “Just nurturing something is good, and if you can get children involved – so many children now are inside and we need to get outside more, I think.”
Advice for the Novice
A great activity to spend time outside with your young loved ones is gardening, Blevons said, which is not only beneficial to your environment but also is educational.
In general, Blevons’ said her best advice for new gardeners is to not be afraid.
If you are just starting out and aren’t sure what direction to take, some of her favorite resilient plants include trailing plants.
Vinca is great in something as simple as a pot, she said, and Blevons sings the praises of an “oddball plant” named gomphrena – which comes in orangey-red, purple and pink shades.
“It is just the most heat-tolerant plant,” Blevons said. “If you just had a spot at your mailbox – those are always tough, hot spots – and you put some gomphrena and some vinca, maybe some zinnias, it would be just a lovely little spot.”
If you have a new area you are planting in, Blevons’ best piece of advice is to prep your soil.
“You need to amend the soil really well with a soil conditioner, topsoil,” she said. “Just loosen that soil, then plant, fertilize and mulch.”
She also finds that people often think that’s all they have to do, but plants need to be nurtured like any other living thing.
“Plants need attention just like pets and people do,” she said. “So, water it well. Cut the little blooms when they fade. It makes it look a lot better.
And remember that when a leaf turns yellow, it’s never going to turn green again, so just take it off. Clean it up. Groom it.”
Novice gardeners might be wary when it comes to cutting back their plants, but Blevons said trimming back is something that a number of plants depend on, including the colorful, leafy coleus.
“People will put it in a pot with other things and, all of a sudden, it’s taking over the world and you don’t know what to do,” she said. “Just chop it back. I usually say, ‘Show it who’s boss.’”
Finally, Blevons said if you are ever in a bind, seek help. It could be as simple as an internet search, in which case Blevons suggests you keep an eye out for a .org site, as they are typically university sites that are highly reliable.
“Also, I would always check an independent garden shop first,” she said. “There are so many in Birmingham, and there is probably one near you.”