Sims Garden resident caretaker Laura Rogers, Homewood City Council President Allyn Holladay and Southern Environmental Center Director Roald Hazelhoff were all instrumental in bringing the Edgewood community garden back to life. Photos by Madoline Markham.
By RICK WATSON
For decades, heirloom shrubs and flowers with standout roses lined five lots at 908 Highland Road.
Thanks to new efforts, the legacy of Catherine Sims, the “Plant Lady of Homewood,” is living on in her Edgewood home’s garden. The lots are now filled with heirloom plants you might have found in a garden half a century ago.
“Of all the projects I’ve done for the city, this is one that I’m really proud of because it can go on forever,” City Council President Allyn Holladay said. “It’s a quiet place in the neighborhood where people can take their children in the afternoon and show them plants they won’t see just anywhere.”
In her will, Sims offered the property to the City of Homewood, but there was a catch – the city had to utilize the property as a botanical gardens.
City leaders weren’t initially excited about the gift because they weren’t sure how to manage and maintain it, so from 2006 when she passed away until last year, the property fell into disrepair. Continue reading
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