Governor’s Mansion Landscape Fund

Donations from the Garden Clubs of Mississippi allow for the planting, upkeep and improvements to the mansion’s cutting garden.  This area is maintained to reflect what one would find in “Your Grandmother’s Garden” and provide visitors a snapshot of a Mississippi home garden.  Originally filled with failing roses, this area of the mansion grounds evolved under the Bryant administration when Mrs. Phil Bryant and GCM member Frances Morse introduced more antique roses to dot the cutting garden. They interspersed the area with tried-and-true perennials one would see in a Mississippi home garden. 

Each year perennials have been added and there are now: three varieties of daffodils, asters, Becky chrysanthemums, yellow kniphofia, two varieties of rudbeckia, two varieties of daisies, French anemone, garden phlox, Mexican tarragon, one variety of day lily, and gladiolas.  These perennials are punctuated with waves of colorful annuals--violas (fall), rocket snapdragons (spring) and zinnias (summer).  The Governor’s Mansion Landscape Fund specifically purchases flowers, buys fertilizer, provides for pest and disease control, revitalizes the garden with premium planting soil addressing general maintenance and enhancement needs. Pruning and weeding takes place all year by volunteers. 

Thanks to Garden Clubs of Mississippi funds, two new light gray aluminum rose trellises commissioned for design and fabrication by James Minter, Jr. of Brookhaven were added to the cutting garden in April 2023. Mr. Minter took inspiration from the diamond shapes in the Chinese Chippendale benches on the mansion premises for the trellises’ design. 

Several bridal wreath spirea bushes along with homestead verbena, blue salvia, English dogwood (mock orange) and coneflowers were added to the cutting garden with funds and pass-a-longs from Garden Clubs of Mississippi members.  I am always on the lookout for folks dividing hard to find flowers particularly interested in byzantine gladiolas and for suggestions of non-invasive plantings that would enhance the garden to carry out the theme of “Your Grandmother’s Garden.” Suggestions for fragrant plantings and the names of Mississippi nurseries specializing in hard-to-find old fashioned flowers would especially be appreciated this year.  Don’t hesitate to contact the landscape fund team. Thank-you for your continued support to the Governor’s Mansion Landscape Fund. 

For further information or to make a club donation by the deadline of March 1, please contact Carmel Lopez-Lampton at crlampton@aol.com.