JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Metro Master Gardeners’ recent annual plant sale funds the upkeep of area landscapes and educational training for children, novice gardeners, and the public. The Doctor’s Herb Garden at the MS Ag Museum is not only beautiful but an educational tool that teaches hundreds of children each year and visitors from across the country.
Philip Laird, a retired epidemiologist, is a master gardener who volunteers his time tending to all the greenery behind the doctor’s office on the Ag grounds.
“All this property was a landfill where they would bring all the stuff, and they dumped it,” said Laird. “So below here is just tons of stuff. So we’re showing now that you can grow groceries and plants in diverse places”.
More than a century ago, the Doctor’s Herb Garden produced medicinal aids for patients. The Kitchen Garden has basil, thyme, and more.
“Scarlet sage… it’s used for cooking, a digestive aid,” added Laird pointing to a cluster of red buds.
“I’m hoping that we can actually have an herb garden of our own,” said Annalissa Cochran of Flowood.
She brought her sons to the garden Friday on the last day of school.
“In our back yard, if they can get some creative ideas back here with this one, we can even grow herbs to put in our food,” said Cochran.
Experts say this small garden is absorbing carbon dioxide helping to reduce global warming while bees pollinate the flowers.
The first Monday of each month, the master gardeners and volunteers weed and care for this garden for visitors to learn from and enjoy.
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