5. Vegetable Garden & Wilson Windmill
The Demonstration Garden renovation project, sponsored by Martin Environmental Services, consists of 18 raised vegetable beds constructed from a variety of materials and 3 smaller beds for seasonal flowers. Contents vary season by season and are constantly changing. Be sure and stop by on your next visit to the Gardens.
The vegetables grown in the garden are harvested and given to the Wiregrass Food Bank. Winter vegetables include turnips, collards, cabbage, carrots and broccoli, while in the Summer you’ll find okra, squash, eggplant, corn and tomatoes (among many others). The garden includes several varieties of fruit trees – pear, apple, loquat, plum and peach – a ‘raisin’ tree, muscadine arbors, blueberries and blackberries!
Rebirth of an Historic Landmark
For years a landmark on Highway 53, from Dothan to Cottonwood, was the Wilson Windmill, located on the estate of Sidney and Caroline Wilson. This was an historical landmark used to describe, or mark, the area as a point of reference. The windmill was erected on the Wilson farm in the early 1930’s and pumped water for domestic and farm use. Upon their deaths, the windmill was donated to the Dothan Area Botanical Gardens.