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Photo courtesy of Diana Knight
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Kay Aldridge, at right, and other family members of Aldridge Gardens founder Eddie Aldridge, pose for a photo with a bronze bust of him on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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This bronze bust of Eddie Aldridge, the founder of Aldridge Gardens, sits just inside the gate of the 30-acre public gardens off Lorna Road in Hoover, Alabama.
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Photo courtesy of Diana Knight
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About 30 people attended a ceremony dedicating a bronze bust of Aldridge Gardens founder Eddie Aldridge on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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This plaque, donated by the Alabama Hydrangea Society, sits just below a bronze bust of Aldridge Gardens founder Eddie Aldridge just inside the gate of the public gardens in Hoover, Alabama.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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This bronze bust of Eddie Aldridge, the founder of Aldridge Gardens, sits just inside the gate of the 30-acre public gardens off Lorna Road in Hoover, Alabama.
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Photo courtesy of Diana Knight
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Kay Aldridge speaks at the dedication of a bronze bust of her husband, Eddie Aldridge, at Aldridge Gardens in Hoover, Alabama, on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021.
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Photo courtesy of Diana Knight
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Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato speaks at the dedication of a bronze bust of Aldridge Gardens founder Eddie Aldridge at the gardens on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, as Mark Davis, a friend of Aldridge and member of the gardens advisory board, listens.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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This bronze bust of Eddie Aldridge, the founder of Aldridge Gardens, sits just inside the gate of the 30-acre public gardens off Lorna Road in Hoover, Alabama.
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Photo courtesy of Diana Knight
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Kay Aldridge poses for a photo with a bronze bust of her husband, Eddie Aldridge, at Aldridge Gardens in Hoover, Alabama, on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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This bronze bust of Eddie Aldridge, the founder of Aldridge Gardens, sits just inside the gate of the 30-acre public gardens off Lorna Road in Hoover, Alabama.
Aldridge Gardens recently installed a bronze bust of its founder, Eddie Aldridge, near the entrance to the gardens.
The bust sits just inside the gate of the 30-acre complex, which includes a 5-acre lake, hydrangeas, camellias, Japanese maples, azaleas, bonsai, a public fruit garden and native Alabama plants.
Mark Davis, a friend of Aldridge and member of the gardens’ advisory board, organized a fundraising drive to create and install the bust of Aldridge. He raised $19,000 for the project within 35 days.
Davis originally wanted to create a life-size statue of Aldridge sitting on a park bench where he once loved to sit and chat with visitors to the gardens, but Aldridge was against the idea.
Following Aldridge’s death in November 2018, his wife, Kay, agreed to the smaller bust as a compromise.
Kay and other family members were present for the bust dedication ceremony on Aug. 29.
The Alabama Hydrangea Society donated $3,000 to cover the cost of a bronze plaque to go with the bust, and there were 20 to 25 other donors, Davis said. Some paid $300 for “Friends of Eddie Aldridge” brick pavers that were installed beside the bust.
Retired Marine Col. Lee Busby, a sculptor from Tuscaloosa, designed and sculpted the bust, and it was cast in bronze at the University of Alabama Foundry.
