Men’s Garden Club installs memorial

Some men fish or hunt while others play a game of golf, but there are those who’d rather spend seasons laboring in the soil either weeding, planting, pruning or trimming and hope that those passing by consider their work a job well done.

That is what members of the Vestavia Hills Men’s Garden Club prefer. Proof of their labors is the last sight motorists view as they pass through the intersection of U.S. 31 and Shades Crest Road heading northbound leaving Vestavia Hills.

A wonderful assortment of perennials, bright annuals and rose bushes border the garden, framing a stunning water feature right at the corner. In the shade of a huge water oak, a tulip poplar and Natchez crape myrtles provide a canopy for Southern shield ferns and lenten roses and camellias.

A large American flag flaps in the wind with its pole anchored in a concrete platform. Lit at night, it is a constant reminder of our heritage.

It is on this platform that the club has recently chosen to honor its deceased members with polished granite stone upon which their name badges are displayed. Surrounding the platform are four concrete urns planted with lavender and trailing succulents.

The garden traces its roots to the first Master Gardener class offered at Jefferson State Community College in January 1983. Henderson Walker and Joe Mapes were among those enrolled in the small, not-for-credit, 11-week class. Both were outgoing, enjoyed work and liked being involved in passing along what knowledge they had. It is the Master Gardener program which is credited with the Club formation and its focus on community beautification. Club members named it the Henderson Walker Memorial Park after his death. Last year the club completed a flagstone patio and pathway through the garden with stone donated by All South Stone. The club and the garden are also supported by the city of Vestavia and the group is a member of the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce.

– Submitted by the Vestavia Hills Men’s Garden Club.