The Butrus Garden

A 4-acre mature woodland in old Mountain Brook surrounds the grand house built in 1931 of soft gray limestone. Several years ago, visionary new owners revived it and created a new Italianate garden that has settled comfortably around the home. The emphasis is on greenery, stone, and water. Color is limited to white blooming plants incorporated into the landscape plan and into a few substantial pots filled with seasonal color. Visitors approach via a long driveway and cross a stone terrace in front, then glimpse the first of several outdoor rooms. In the first, the lawn is encircled with low boxwood, tall arborvitae, and pots of colorful annuals. In the next garden, an antique fountain and its pool stand at the center. An antique copper female figure, subtly tucked into one side, overlooks this space, which terminates in a stone pavilion, repeating the architecture of the side porch on the main house. Stepping down from the gardens, we move along stone paths featuring flowering spring perennials and annuals to a lower grass level surrounded by a woodland garden with large stone statuary focal points. There are many private nooks, including a lower terrace off the side of the house. A greenhouse, the stone base of which matches the house, is surrounded by a new woodland garden designed by noted Birmingham landscape architect Norman Kent Johnson. A sense of complete privacy and peace permeates the place.

This garden's estimated size is 2 acres.

Open Days 2024:  Saturday, May 4
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.