Photo by Madison Miller.
Gardening Club
Club members Lee Higginbotham, Brian Schmidtke, Johnny Wood, Ken Lundberg and Malcolm McLeod stand near the flag at the garden they help maintain on Highway 31.
When Lee Higginbotham decided to join the Vestavia Hills Men’s Garden Club, he knew he would be gaining a chance to learn something new. As a chief operating manager with Advanced Mower, he already had an interest in gardening, and he looked forward to using his skills to give back to the community.
“When I joined it was to learn, and what it involved was two things: fellowship with people I didn’t know and involvement with the community, giving back,” Higginbotham said. “That’s probably a huge part of it for a lot of people. We do really have some very talented people that are members.”
Giving back is a tradition prevalent throughout the history of the club, which was formed in 1986 by Henderson Walker. Its members were mostly retired residents who wanted to create a place where they could practice, develop and enjoy an interest in gardening together. They decided on a patch of land across from the Lutheran Church of Vestavia Hills. The spot sits near the exit of the city while traveling north on Highway 31 and near the entrance of the city while traveling south. With a high traffic volume, the group knew that they could help the city’s presentation with their garden.
“Entering the city, you’ve got the beautiful Sibyl Temple across from us,” Higginbotham said.
The garden has received numerous awards from the Birmingham Beautification Board and is a popular spot for prom, bridal and family photos.
“You’ll be surprised at the number of people that drive by and say, ‘Hey, it looks great,’” Higginbotham said.
The current members spend as much time as possible in the garden, and many of them are master gardeners. The club credits one member, Henry Chilton, who passed away in 2014, with much of the growth that the club has seen since its beginning.
“He was instrumental,” Higginbotham said. “He literally worked up here several hours every day for about 20 years.”
Today, the club has approximately 25 members from Vestavia Hills and surrounding areas. They meet September through May in the conference room of the Chamber of Commerce. Meetings often feature guest speakers, and the club organizes several community events throughout the year.
“We’re kind of in a growth stage where we have some younger members getting involved along with our senior members,” Higginbotham said.
The club accepts new members at any time and has recently added female club members to the group.
To learn more about the Vestavia Hills Men’s Garden Club, visit vhmgc.com.
