MOBILE has one of the richest horticultural heritages in America, and it goes far beyond our signature Bellingrath. Most of our people do not even know that heritage, but from Bellingrath, to the K. Sawada name and heritage camellias and azaleas preserved at the beautiful nonprofit operations at Mobile Botanical Gardens, to the nursery industry in Semmes that supplies plants from shore to shore in America, Mobile's history is rooted in her roots. Some of us have been around long enough to remember, if vaguely, when a section of Van Antwerp's downtown carried some gardening needs, and a September 2, 1907, introduction to Van Antwerp's grand opening published in the Mobile Register refers to the Van Antwerp "seed business" to be there along with the pharmacy, soda fountain, and other uses. We return to our heritage when we garden, and we will soon enjoy an industry name in midtown to join those some of us remember from past times. From Ibsen to Ellis to Mobile Seed to Zimlich and others, we can now add Stokley of Semmes!

The old KMB recycle center will soon be the new home of Stokley Garden Express garden center!

If you don't know Stokley's, visit them on Facebook at Stokley's Garden Express! Stay tuned to the Collaborative for updates about fall popup garden sales at the site while the site is being developed. Projected opening: early spring, 2019, with some fall, 2018, preview pop-up sales on the corner.