It’s been almost a year since Birmingham Historical Society moved from a free-standing shotgun house at Sloss Quarters with a period garden to a mid-rise residential building in the historic urban neighborhood of Southside. While we love the new space and especially our new neighbors, it’s no longer possible to keep Grandmother’s Garden. But we have preserved some of the best parts of that 15 year experience.

A popular medicinal herb book, Pretty Posies Powerful Healing – an Herbal Primer, featured watercolor illustrations of plants grown in what was called Grandmother’s Garden.

And the Facebook page is archived with photos and information gathered over the 15 year period by both master gardeners and volunteers. Both sources are a wealth of information for those interested in heirloom plants, organic herbs, fruits, and vegetables, as well as decorative period plants and the way in which they were historically used.

There are lots of reasons to rediscover heirloom plants including their disease resistance, flavor, pollination without pesticides, and even the memories that they evoke. Be sure to take a look at the links above and if you’d like to try this yourself, here are a few useful tips!