“I enjoy being around people and
plants, working with flowers and
I absolutely love being part of a
group that helps other people.”
PETE DOU THIT
The Douthits began their gardening odyssey
by attending a flower show hosted by the Iris
and Daylily Society. “We joined the group and
then started growing our own irises and daylil-
lies,” Donnie said.
Pete said that he had never grown flowers
before, even though he had done a little farming.
Previously, he had worked in the produce sec-
tion at a Winn-Dixie store in Florida, so he was
familiar with that aspect of vegetables and had
an extensive knowledge of how to grow crops
because he often sold his greens to the store.
“Basically, our first experience with flower
gardening was on the acreage we have now,” Pete
said. “Donnie wanted a country cottage garden.
She loves purple, white and yellow cone flowers
so we have a lot of those, along with Knockout
Roses, Texas Bluebonnets, pansies, poppies,
phlox, mums and more than 40 other varieties
of flowering garden plants as well as vegetables.”
“When we moved to Cullman in 2001, we
quickly fell in love with the area,” said Donnie.
“The Blooming Festival in Cullman is one of
our favorite events because of the plant sale,” she
added.
The Blooming Festival is a two day juried arts
festival designed to attract more than 25,000
visitors to the beautiful campus of St. Bernard
Abbey and Prep School. Located adjacent to the
school is the world famous Ave Maria Grotto.
The picturesque landscape of stone cut build-
ings on the grounds of Alabama’s only abbey
provides a backdrop for the out-of-doors show.
More than 150 booths are filled with artists
demonstrating and exhibiting their work.
12 | SUMMER 2020
CULLMAN COUNTY SENIOR MAGAZINE