Hazlehurst has hidden treasure in gardens of Jeanette Bell
PRESERVING A GARDEN – Jeanette Bell chose to create a garden in Hazlehurst to preserve specimens from her New Orleans garden from future disasters like Katrina.
PARTY BOUQUET – Jeanette Bell treated the Courier staff to a “party bouquet” which, as she explained it, is cut the day of the party or event and arranged. She emphasized that the flowers should not be gathered before the day of the event. Bell’s New Orleans garden has been featured in the New York Times.
Hazlehurst has a hidden treasure in the gardens of Jeanette Bell who divides her time between here and New Orleans.
Her story involves Hurricane Katrina’s impact on her life. She has lived in New Orleans for many years but lived in Hazlehurst until age 12. When Katrina hit her hometown, she made the decision to purchase property in Hazlehurst and start a garden, thinking that if another hurricane visited New Orleans and destroyed her garden there, she would have a replica and would not lose her research.
Mrs. Bell has plans to write a book which will be a “coffee table” publication but will also include gardening tips.
A few weeks after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, Jeanette visited her rose garden of 500 plants that she started in a vacant lot and found the roses undamaged and in full bloom. She gathered bouquets and gave them to passersby.
Mrs. Bell is interested in selling cut flowers from her garden through local florists eventually. She says that Hazlehurst is a beautiful town and wants to get involved with city administration in beautifying the downtown area even further.
