State Botanical Garden
of Georgia
Athens, Georgia
June 2010
This 313-acre garden was
founded in 1968 as the University of Georgia Botanical
Garden. The garden is not located on the University’s main
campus. It’s located a couple of miles south of the campus
and feels like a separate entity. When you enter off the
main road you drive quite a distance through field and
forest before arriving at the visitor center.
The visitor center is a very modern looking structure with
a beautiful entry fountain and plantings. During my visit
there was a display of beautiful botanical illustrations
gracing the walls. Behind the entry foyer is a small room
showing a movie about the garden. I don’t always watch
these sort of introductory movies, but I think they are a
great amenity for visitors and appreciate gardens that
offer them.
Attached is a two-level conservatory.
When you walk in on this upper level, you’re in a large
open area suitable for gathering tour groups. The area is
surrounded by beds of tropical and subtropical plants. The
high glass ceiling makes it bright and airy. It’s a great
space.
The lower level has a small but beautiful collection of
economically important plants.
Everything is clean and well-maintained and there are very
nice interpretive signs.
One of my favorite plants was this papaya showing both
fruits and flowers.
Adjacent to the Conservatory is the International Garden.
An interpretive sign describes how the areas of this garden
are designed to represent the three major eras in the
development of botanical gardens - the Middle Ages, the Age
of Exploration and the Age of Conservation. This is a
concept I’ve never seen before and it works really well,
giving new context to garden types I’ve seen quite often.
The Herb Garden and Physic Garden represent the Middle
Ages, when botanic gardens first appeared. Looking at them
in this context is a great reminder of why almost every
public garden has an herb garden today.
The Age of
Exploration is represented by the Bartram Collection,
displaying species collected in the southeastern United
States by the Bartram family, and by the Ernest Wilson
Collection, displaying species collected by Wilson in
China. The plants and interpretive signs are a great
reminder of how important plant collectors are to our
gardens.
In addition to great interpretive signage, the gardens are
also nicely laid out with beautiful trails meandering
through woods.
The Age of Conservation, the present, is represented by
gardens that focus on rare and endangered plants.
In addition to an interpretive sign that talks about the
issue of endangered plants, the labels for individual
species also indicate their status.
Next to the International Garden is the Heritage Garden
which displays heirloom perennials and antique roses in a
formal garden setting. It looks to be still
underdevelopment but the entry and hardscaping are
beautiful and I love the idea. I’m sure it will be a
fantastic addition in a very few years.
The rest of the Botanic Garden is
much less formal. The Shade Garden takes you on a
short walk through a hillside of native hardwood
forest. It’s a lovely walk featuring stone bridges
over creeks, majestic trees and great interpretive
signs.
Adjacent to the Shade Garden are a Native Flora Garden and
an Azalea Study Collection. I can imagine both being
spectacular in spring, but in late June there was little to
see.
I was very impressed with the gardens around the
conservatory and visitor center. The signage is excellent
and I loved the slightly different approach they’ve taken
in interpretation. A lot of this garden is woodland trails,
which provide great opportunities for locals and are
probably beautiful in spring and fall, but are not really
my favorite garden feature. However, what I liked, I really
liked, and I would love to go back in the spring and
experience the woodland walks at their best.
To see more photos of the garden, click here.
Click here to visit the garden's website.