Mobile County Master Gardeners

Gardening Events for Your Calendar

What: Let’s Learn Together Outside
4-session program for families with children birth-5.
Thursdays (almost full) and Saturdays in July
When: 10-Noon Starting July 9 and 11
Where: Mobile Botanical Gardens
5151 Museum Dr, Mobile, AL
Registration required.
Fee: Free
Info: [email protected]
or [email protected]

What: Garden Walk and Talk at Bellingrath Gardens
Led by Bellingrath’s horticultural experts
When: Wed, July 29, 2026 (10:30-11:30 am)
Where: 12401 Bellingrath Gardens Rd, Theodore, AL
Free tour with regular garden admission or membership
More info: www.bellingrath.org/discover/events

What: 2026 Homeowner Gardening Conference
Research-based gardening education for
South Alabama homeowners (space limited)
When: Sept 25 (5:30-8 pm)-26 (9am-5 pm), 2026
Where: 1070 Schillinger Rd N, Mobile
Fee: $25 includes dinner and lunch
Register: aces.edu/go/6407

Interested in Becoming a Master Gardener in 2027?
Put your name on the waiting list now.
When: Classes (August 12-Nov 11, 2027)
Every Thursday: 9am - 2pm
Fee: For materials used in 13-week training
Where: 1070 Schillinger Rd N, Mobile
More Info: Call 251-574-8445 or email [email protected]

Master Gardener Helpline: 877-252-4769

The Grow More Give More 250-Pound Challenge is hotter than an Alabama July!
Check out the updated leaderboard. Tuscaloosa County has taken the lead, with 3,353 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables donated. As of Tuesday, July 7, 33 counties had reported donations, and 14 had officially reached the 250-pound goal.
Is your county on the list?

The challenge is far from over. Donations made through Labor Day can still be counted toward county totals.

This statewide challenge celebrates America’s 250th anniversary by encouraging every Alabama county to donate at least 250 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to local food pantries, neighbors, community kitchens, and organizations that serve others.

See where your county ranks, learn more, and track your donations at aces.edu/go/250Challenge.

🌿 Japanese climbing fern (Lygodium japonicum)

Leaves are positioned opposite one another along the stem.

🍃 Shape is variable but generally triangular in outline and finely lobed. Fertile fronds (with spores) are more finely dissected than nonfertile fronds.

🌱 Stems are thin and wiry but difficult to break and can range in color from green to tan, reddish or almost black.

Leaves turn tan to dark brown after a freeze but may remain evergreen in warmer climates.

Dense mats can form on shrubs and trees, shading out native vegetation and creating a fire hazard by allowing flames to climb into the tree canopy.

📍 Preferred habitat includes roadsides, rights-of-way, forest edges, open forests, forest plantations, streambanks, riparian areas, urban green spaces and even flower beds.

This species is found primarily in central and south Alabama, but reports are increasing in north Alabama. Early detection and control can help slow its spread.

Thoroughly inspect pine straw before using it in landscapes, as Japanese climbing fern can easily spread through this product.

Learn more about identification and control on the Alabama Extension website:
https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/forestry-wildlife/japanese-climbing-fern-identification-control/

🌿 Join the 2026 Year of Alabama Invasive Plants Project to raise awareness, improve identification skills and take action against invasive species. Visit the ACES Year of Alabama Invasive Plants Project to learn more and take the pledge.