Florence Arts & Museums (FAM) will kick off its 2026 Alabama Plants Series this winter, offering a hands-on lineup of demonstrations, presentations and workshops centered on native plants and their deep cultural roots in the state.
The five-part series will take place at Pope’s Tavern Museum and is designed to explore the connections between Alabama plants, Native American traditions and early products created from the natural landscape. Each session begins at 1 p.m. and costs $20 per participant.
The series opens Sunday, Feb. 8, with a presentation hosted by Beth Phillips focused on kudzu. Participants will learn about the fast-growing plant through examples of kudzu-based products and recipes, highlighting both its history and modern uses.
In February and March, Summer McCreless will lead three demonstrations that introduce participants to practical uses of native plants. Those sessions include an herbal tea demonstration on Sunday, Feb. 22; an herbal medicine demonstration on Sunday, March 8; and a soap-making demonstration on Sunday, March 22.
The series concludes Sunday, March 29, with a workshop hosted by Nadene Mairesse, where participants will create ink made from native plants, drawing on early artistic and utilitarian traditions.
All workshops will be held at Pope’s Tavern Museum, located at 203 Hermitage Drive in Florence. Pope’s Tavern is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For additional information or questions about the Alabama Plants Series, residents can call (256) 760-6379 or email [email protected].
Florence Arts & Museums seeks to build community through public programming and collaboration. FAM promotes education, preservation and public dialogue through four primary sites; Pope’s Tavern Museum, Florence Indian Mound Museum, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Rosenbaum House and the Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts.
Through its programs, collections and events, FAM encourages visitors to learn, discover and share while sustaining connections between art, history, people and places in Florence and North Alabama.
