CONTINUE YOUR OLYMPIC EXPERIENCES AT JASMINE HILL GARDENS AND OUTDOOR MUSEUM

February 24, 2010

Contact:  Jim Inscoe (334) 263-5713 –or- P. O. Box 6001, Montgomery, Alabama  36106

CONTINUE YOUR OLYMPIC EXPERIENCES AT JASMINE HILL GARDENS AND OUTDOOR MUSEUM

As the exciting 2010 Winter Olympics close in Vancouver, memories of those games can be revived when one visits Alabama’s “Little Corner of Greece” this spring.  Jasmine Hill Gardens and Outdoor Museum will reopen for spring on March 12 and remain open on weekends through June 27.  Hours are 9 AM to 5 PM on Friday and Saturday, and from Noon to 5 PM on Sunday.  The 2010 schedule includes an extra month of availability for tours.

Although the colder than normal winter in Alabama affected some shrubs such as camellias, signs indicate that the brilliant colors of spring will flourish again.  Daffodils have already started blooming and other bulbs such as tulips will continue their show of color when visitors begin arriving in March.  New varieties of annuals and perennials such as columbine, delphinium and digitalis have been added to beds which will be surrounded by mounds of azaleas.  Overhead the flowering Japanese cherries will create their clouds of flowers.

Throughout the gardens are reproductions of famous Greek and Roman statuary created in both marble and bronze, some depicting Olympic athletes as well as Greek gods and goddesses.  The Olympian Center which greets guests upon their arrival is a reproduction of how the Olympic Temple of Hera appeared at the time of the first Olympics in 776 B.C. in Olympia, Greece.  Within the gardens an impressive full-scale reproduction of the stone ruins of the Temple of Hera depicts the location where the Olympia Flame originates before both Summer and Winter Olympic Games.  Once the flame is ignited by  rays of the sun, the torch is carried by relay throughout the world before it is used to light a cauldron marking the opening of modern day games.

Operated by the non-profit Jasmine Hill Foundation, the gardens are located between Montgomery and Wetumpka just off U. S. 231 on Jasmine Hill Road.  Admission is charged, but rates have not been increased over the past decade.  Picnic tables are available and visitors are welcome to use them for family gatherings.  Additional information and pictures may be found on the website www.jasminehill.org.  Questions will be gladly answered by staff for phone callers at 334-263-5713 or 334-567-6463.

Photos can be e-mailed upon request to admin@jasminehill.org.