ALABAMA A&M and AUBURN UNIVERSITIES
ALABAMA A&M and AUBURN UNIVERSITIES |
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AUBURN, FEB. 12---Veteran nurserymen Eddie Aldridge and C. Beaty Hanna, both of Birmingham, recently were presented state awards at the Alabama Nurserymen's Association annual meeting in Mobile.
Dr. Stephen Jones, director of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, presented Aldridge with the W. Kelley Mosley Environmental Award which includes a plaque of recognition, a limited-edition forestry/wildlife print and $500 cash award. The award is given to recognize achievement resulting in the wiser use of our renewable natural resources. It is given by Auburn University and is made possible by a gift from Auburn alumnus Dr. W. Kelly Mosley of Atlanta, Ga., and the John and Mary Franklin Foundation.
Mr. Aldridge, on behalf of the Alabama Nursery and Landscape Association, presented C. Beaty Hanna the Lifetime Achievement Award for his many contributions and outstanding service to the horticulture industry.
Together, the two men have more than 80 years experience in the nursery business. Both men began their careers working in Bessemer greenhouses for Aldridge's father, Loren.
After attending Auburn University and serving a tour of dutyoverseas in the Army, Eddie Aldridge returned to Bessemer to join his father in a wholesale/retail nursery business.
Hanna, on the other hand, after graduating from Auburn University, decided on a career in landscape contracting. He joined Marcus and Helen Hunt at Landscape Services in Birmingham, where he became a partner in 1956.
Both men have built outstanding reputations in the horticulture industry. They have donated much time, effort and plants to charities, churches, civic organizations and Habitat for Humanity.
In 1971, Aldridge, introduced and patented one of the most popular oak leaf hydrangeas, Hydrangea quercifolia "Snowflake." He also served as president of the Alabama Nurserymen's Association in 1975.
In 1977, Aldridge purchased a 30-acre estate in the middle of Hoover, Alabama. The property is rolling and wooded terrain with a 6.5-acre, spring-fed lake in the middle of it. Over the past 20 years, Aldridge has landscaped and developed the property into a one-of-a-kind sanctuary and a tribute to nature. Scattered throughout the woodlands are hundreds of the garden's signature plants, the "Snowflake" hydrangea, as well as many native azaleas and dogwoods.
In fall of 1997, Aldridge and his wife, Kay, gave their3,600-square-foot home and 30 acres of property to the City of Hoover through a charitable trust agreement. Aldridge Park and Gardens has since been dedicated by the Hoover City Council as a permanent park, forever protected from commercial or residential development. This was a stipulation Aldridge insisted upon. Alabama has more species of native hydrangeas than any other place in the world, so it's fitting a world-class hydrangea garden be featured in the state.
After some renovation, the Aldridge home will serve as a meeting place to educate visitors who come to the garden.
In 1972, Hanna purchased Landscape Services from the Hunts and has served as its president for the last 26 years. Under Hanna's leadership, Landscape Services Inc., has grown into one of the largest landscape companies in the Southeast.?
Both Aldridge and Hanna have connections to the new Urban Horticulture and Environmental Center at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
Aldridge, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Birmingham Botanical Society, was instrumental in developing the partnership with Alabama Cooperative Extension System to establish the Center at the gardens. The new center will be named in honor of C. Beaty Hanna when it's completed later this year.