Members had a unique opportunity for an exclusive preview before Smithgall Woodland Garden opens to the public! Smithgall is a 168-acre satellite garden of the Atlanta Botanical Garden. It is located in nearby Gainesville, where collections of trees and shrubs are grown and studied. The Smithgall Woodland Garden expands the Botanical Garden’s current native plant conservation program, and endangered plants are propagated on the site. Additionally, plants are grown from seeds collected in Asia and evaluated for their suitability to southeastern landscapes. Many of us have purchased some of the wonderful plants propagated at this site. We received an educational demonstration on propagation of plants by cuttings and seeds to learn how they do it. After the demonstration, we received a behind the scenes tour of a new garden before the grand opening! We then traveled a short distance to McMahan’s Nursery. McMahan’s is a rare plant nursery specializing in…
Category: Field Trips
Wilkerson Mill Garden and Nearly Native Nursery Field Trip – March 1, 2012
Elizabeth Dean of Wilkerson Mill Garden entertained and enlightened us with her presentation on hydrangeas at our January meeting. GCMGA members and guests followed up the presentation with a field trip to learn more and shop! Elizabeth provided a tour and educational demonstration. After learning more about the selections available, many of us took advantage of the opportunity to acquire a variety of hydrangeas and companion plants in order to establish them for the spring blooming season. Elizabeth’s advice is to plant early and, although there is the possibility of a late freeze in March, it is manageable with young plants. After touring Wilkerson Mill, we traveled to Nearly Native Nursery for a picnic lunch, workshop, and tour. Nearly Native Nursery is a specialty nursery that promotes and propagates southeastern native plants for all types of landscapes. They offer a wide variety of native plant life that is tough, versatile,…
Oakland Cemetery Field Trip Report
By Jessica Miller, Publicity Chair Photos by Margaret Bergeron, Field Trip Coordinator Clear, cool weather only enhanced our Oakland Cemetery field trip experience on Thursday, October 20, 2011. About 45 of us gathered at Six Feet Under for a warm lunch before our adventure into the beautiful cemetery across the street. The food was excellent, the fellowship even better! Once we entered Oakland Cemetery, we realized what a wonderful place it was to see some of Atlanta’s finest tree and plant specimens. Magnificent oak, camellia, magnolia, and dogwood complemented the wonderful blooming antique roses, rosemary, chrysanthemums and asters. Magnificent Victorian, Greek Revival, Gothic and Egyptian architecture was to be seen, as well. Our very knowledgeable tour guide, Brooks Garcia, soon gathered us together and began to lead us on a delightful stroll through Oakland. Brooks’ first-hand knowledge of Oakland’s horticultural importance, as well as his information about the cemetery’s history…