Friends of the AMA Garden Stroll Will Visit Five Private Gardens
Landscaper Tim Yates Will Speak at the April 12 Lunch, Auction and Tour
For the third year, the Friends of the Albany Museum of Art will take those who enjoy nature in full bloom on a unique Saturday tour of private gardens. The event on April 12 will feature five locations in Northwest Albany. Tickets can be purchased HERE.
“This is our third tour,” Friends of the AMA member Kirk Rouse said. “When we started our tours, we had in mind to circle Albany with different parts of the city and county. We started in the central part of the city, and last year we concentrated on the Historic Rawson Circle District and highlighted camellias. This year, we’re going into the suburbs in Northwest Albany.”
The Friends of the AMA Spring Stroll: Gardens of Northwest Albany will begin at 11 am at Doublegate Country Club. “It’s a good location because all of the gardens are within a mile or two of Doublegate,” Rouse said. “We have five of what I call ‘intracity’ gardens. Each will provide a different view of what they can do in their backyards.
“What I hope everyone will take away is that anyone can do this, and you don’t have to spend a lot of money on it. You can grow native plants, and you also can grow edibles in your yard. Several of the yards have areas dedicated to gardening and then they have gardening areas interspersed with flowering plants and veggies.”
The morning will start with a program by Albany landscaper Tim Yates, whose garden was featured in the inaugural Spring Stroll. “It’s going to be called Gardening in Southwest Georgia,” Rouse said. “Tim will give an overall presentation about gardening in our area. Plus, he’ll have a planter he’s put together, and he’ll talk about how everyone can do beautiful planters. He’ll give us a step-by-step of how he did that.”
Yates, a former educator who has found a second career in landscaping, became interested in gardening at age 5 when he planted his first flower—a sweet pea. He has a devoted local following on Instagram, where he regularly shares photos of flowers and plants. He maintains the gardens at First Methodist Church of Albany, where he is a popular Sunday school teacher.
Yates’ presentation will be followed by lunch and a silent auction for plants and garden apparatuses that will be on display. Then, participants will visit the five nearby gardens. A garden that Yates works with that will be on the Spring Stroll is at the residence of Kay Strom, who has a unique feature in her garden—a small chapel.
“It seems contradictory to say that I go into Kay’s garden to look for things to be done and problems to be corrected and then to say I find peace and joy there, but that’s what happens in this fabulous garden that she has created,” Yates observed.
Strom said her garden is “an expression of my interest in creating a sanctuary for all those who enter. I hope that beauty and safety permeate the air and surround those who stroll through it.”
The Friends of the AMA is a volunteer organization that supports the mission of the Albany Museum of Art, which offers free admission to everyone and maintains a robust, year-round schedule of art exhibitions, educational programming, and events. The Friends also produce annual AMA Treasures videos recognizing individuals and families who have been instrumental in the museum’s success.
“We do this tour to highlight art outside the walls of the museum,” Rouse said. “We have such a wonderful growing season here in Southwest Georgia, but we just don’t get an opportunity to sit back and enjoy it, to see the beauty of everything we have. This benefits the museum by taking the museum outside the walls, but also by making people aware that we have the most wonderful museum in South Georgia for all to enjoy, and to enjoy for free. As Friends of the AMA, we hope this will help promote the mission of the Albany Museum of Art.”
Tickets for Friends of the AMA Spring Stroll: Gardens of Northwest Albany are $60 for AMA donors and $70 for non-donors. Tickets can be purchased HERE.
AMA EXHIBITIONS
- Michael Jones: Polyphonic is Jan 23-April 26, 2025, in the Haley Gallery.
- Idea Machines, Conceptual Art from the Permanent Collection, is Jan 23-April 26, 2025, in the East Gallery.
- Home, Selections from the Permanent Collection is Jan 23-April 26, 2025, in the McCormack Gallery.
- Know, Learn, Wonder, Highlights from the Sub-Saharan African Collection is Jan 23-April 26, 2025, in the Hodges Gallery.
- 20th Century Small Works on Paper from the Permanent Collection is Jan 30-March 22, 2025 in the West Gallery.
ABOUT THE ALBANY MUSEUM OF ART
The Albany Museum of Art is located at 311 Meadowlark Drive in Albany, Ga., adjacent to Albany State University West Campus just off Gillionville Road. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The Albany Museum of Art is open to the public 10 am-5 pm Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission is free.
For more information about the AMA please visit our website, www.albanymuseum.com, or call 229.439.8400. Be sure to follow AlbanyMuseumOfArt on Facebook and AlbanyMuseum on Instagram.
