Trials & Tribulations of a Southern Gardener

A few weeks ago, one of the ladies in the Garden Club invited us up to her place on the river. So we had our May meeting at Ms. Ann's place. It is a fantastic place!

I actually went to the Mobile Botanical Gardens Gallery of Garden Tours on a Friday ,and then we went to Ms. Ann's place on that Saturday. So we had a pretty busy weekend.

Her home away from home is near Camden, Alabama, on the Alabama River. It is actually on an island, called Ellis Island.

Auburn University previously owned the island. They brought in wild hogs and put them on the island for research. However, the island flooded, and since hogs can't swim....they drowned. After that Auburn decided to sell the island. They sold the island for a dollar!!! One whole dollar!!! Can you imagine!

Ms. Ann and her husband have had a place on the island for 15 plus years.

She had always wanted an old house. She found this house just down the road in a small town called Grove Hill, and had it moved to their property on the river.

It needed a lot of work, but they are almost complete.She had this fantastic porch built so she can enjoy her amazing view.

I would love to sit out here every morning and enjoy my coffee.

the house is absolutely precious. She kept as much of the details as possible. When they moved the house, they had to cut it into. It sat in Grove Hill for a day or so. While it was there, someone stole all of the original light fixtures, and door hardware.

The wood floor is original, as are the arched doorways.

This mantle is also original. It had an old heater in it.

She fixed this room up for her grand daughters.

Master bedroom

One thing I noticed about the windows were these old wrought iron window guards. They are also original to the house and every window had one. She was going to have them re-done to clean them up.

After we had a wonderful brunch, we headed to Camden to one of my favorite places, Black Belt Treasures.

They showcase all the work of local artist from the Black Belt. The Black Belt is a fertile, rich strip of land, that runs from Texas to Maryland. It spans through 18 counties in Alabama. Before the Civil War, this region produced the vast majority of cotton for the Northern States as well as European countries. At one time, this was one of the wealthiest regions in the Southwest Unites States.

They have everything from paintings, pottery, jewelry, furniture, knick knacks...you name it!

I have met the man that makes all of this. He makes it from wisteria vines and pieces of wood he finds. I watched him make those baskets, and it didn't take him but a few minutes.

They are beautiful. They are hand carved and painted duck decoys. You wouldn't use them for duck hunting though. They start out at about $1600. I guess if you have plenty of money to blow, you could use them to duck hunt.

All of these quilts were made by the women in Gee's Bend. You should go read all about them HERE

Do ya'll see those faces/jugs on that shelf? I wish I would have gotten a close up...but they were pretty freaky. We all agreed that we wouldn't want them in our house.

These birdhouses are adorable

I loved this rusty pile of old junk. I love found object art.

There are a lot of old plantation homes in Camden. I actually bought a book at Black Belt Treasures, Historic Plantations of Alabama's Black Belt. There are 12 listed, and I have planned a trip to go see all 12 soon. 5 of them are actually in Camden.

This house was actually an old church!!!

How cool is that!!! I would have loved to seen the inside. That would be a fun re-model. I could live in an old church.

Pardon the car window. I was taking pictures out of the car window. There were so many to see.

Oooohhhh I love it! I would love to have an old house like this, out in the country. I could have my little garden, and live off the land. I could sit out on my porch, drink coffee enjoy all my blessings.

The mailbox of this plantation caught my eye. The home itself was down a long driveway that was lined with oak trees. I just couldn't imagine living somewhere like that. The big, new, fancy, million dollar homes don't excite me. I have designed several million dollar houses, and trust me...the old, historic ones have my heart.

But these I must have!!!!! How perfect is that mailbox for me!!! A deer AND a turkey. Although if I had to choose one...I would have to choose the turkey because ya'll know that's my favorite.

Hope ya'll are all good. I haven't been around to visit lately. I am working on all kinds of projects. I gotta work hard so I can find an old house to renovate, so I will have a place to put my turkey mailbox.