Dr. Wilf Nicholls, Director of the Georgia Botanical Gardens, gave a thought provoking talk on the concepts of adding winter interest to the garden with beautiful foliage, berries, and bark at the meeting on February 11. As a native of London, England, Dr. Nicholls shared his deep knowledge of plants on both edges of the continent and how they can be used to brighten our winter landscapes. His decades of experience in the conservation of native flora, plant research, breeding and the introduction of new plants to horticulture added even more interest to dispelling our “winter blues.” He highlighted his many and varied experiences in the breeding and release to the public of the Mandarin honeysuckle and the Starbright mock orange shrub, and his service as the principal investigator of the Plant Atlantic program for ornamental plant research and development. Dr. Nicholls answered many questions from the audience and provided information on…
Category: Meetings
January 2013 GCMGA Meeting – “Grow Up! Using Vines and Climbers In Your Garden”
The GCMGA kicked off our 20th year as an organization at our January 14 meeting. Our guest speaker was Dan Long, owner of Brushwood Nursery, a mail order nursery specializing in vines and climber. Dan is also a past instructor at Longwood Gardens and has lectured and taught at seminars for over a decade. By focusing on vines and climbers, he has gained extensive knowledge and images on the subject which were shared in his presentations designed to inform and inspire creative use of vines in our gardens. Dan’s presentation titled “Grow Up! Using Vines and Climbers In Your Garden” highlighted an amazing array of vines both classic and new and suited to a wide variety of growing conditions in all colors of the rainbow. The use of vines and climbers in formal and natural garden settings was discussed. Whether you are planning an expansive suburban landscape or looking for that special patio plant,…
October 2012 GCMGA Meeting – “History of Landscape Design”
Connie Cottingham, Director of Public Relations and Communications and Special Events for the Georgia State Botanical Gardens, was the guest speaker for the October meeting. Connie is a Lifetime Master Gardener, a garden writer, a garden club member and is lucky enough to spend almost every day in a botanical garden. Her writing career started almost 20 years ago and has led to over 600 newspaper garden columns for Morris News Service, the Athens Banner-Herald and Northwest Arkansas Morning News. Connie is also a columnist for Georgia Gardening and Southern Distinction magazines, and has been published in a number of magazines. Her presentation on the History of Landscape Design provided important information on the development of historical gardens and their influence on gardens of today. Related Images: