Georgia’'s Glorious Gardens

ATLANTA, March 19, 2009 - Georgia is in full bloom with public gardens, estates, resorts and garden festivals. From her state flower, the beautiful Cherokee rose, to thriving azaleas, rainbows of flowers erupt across mountains, plains and the sandy coastline. The Peach State's impressive gardening pedigree includes the Ladies' Garden Club of Athens, the very first garden club in America. Take a journey through Georgia and discover gardening destinations and events for the master gardener and inquisitive hobbyist alike. (See a complete list of venue links below.)

Authentic and educational experiences that hark back to Georgia's gardening heritage are found across the state. Dunaway Gardens in Newnan is 25 acres of natural and developed radiance steeped in history. From spring-fed pools to hand-laid rock paths, stone waterfalls to 200-year-old trees, these sites were the training grounds of artists, producers, directors and performers throughout the golden years of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Dunaway Gardens was host to ballet troupes, indoor and outdoor theater, Walt and Roy Disney and Minnie Pearl. Visitors will enjoy treasures such as 'Little Stone Mountain,' with more than one acre of solid granite, and the Honeymoon House known as Shangri-la.

A classic garden destination in the state's capital is the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. Indoor and outdoor collections include such themes as roses, rare conifers, carnivorous plants, orchids, hydrangea and species of high economic and medicinal importance. Special events and classes offer enriching experiences for everyone from the expert gardener to the curious child. With 33 acres of woodlands, historic gardens and trails, the Atlanta History Center helps visitors discover and interpret the affect of flora on the history and culture of Georgia. Numerous gardens highlight the state's different regions and points in history, from plants native to pre-colonial Georgia to the intermingling of Asian plants and their American counterparts, the state's piedmont woodlands ecosystem to 1860s pleasure and utility gardens.

In Athens, the State Botanical Gardens of Georgia covers a 313-acre preserve crisscrossed with trails. Complete with tropical conservatory and the Garden Club of Georgia's headquarters, this is a must-see destination for any garden lover in Georgia. Eleven themed plantings and special collections take visitors on a colorful journey around the world. While in Athens, also stop by the Founders Memorial Gardens, commemorating the twelve founding members of America's first garden club, the Ladies Garden Club of Athens. Numerous gardens, an arboretum and an 1857 antebellum home form the core of this grand memorial listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In Savannah, the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Bamboo Farm & Coastal Gardens is one of the historic city's hidden treasures. Its 50-acre site contains display gardens, bamboo groves, pick-your-own strawberry and blackberry farms, picnic areas and nationally known bamboo and palm collections. With classes and workshops taught for Master Gardeners, commercial horticulturalists and the general public, this is a fascinating and educational destination for garden enthusiasts.

Besides the first garden club in the nation, another gardening icon calls Georgia home: the American Camellia Society. Headquartered at Fort Valley's Massee Lane Gardens, collections of camellias, daylilies and roses, as well as a children's garden and Japanese garden complete with tea house, catch visitors imagination. The 160-acre property is not only home to magnificent gardens. The society also boasts educational facilities, a museum and the nation's largest collection of Boehm porcelains open to the public. In Metter, travelers will find Guido Gardens for attracting nightly crowds during December with its impressive Christmas lights display. Waterfalls, fountains and gazebos blend with flowering trees and blossoming shrubs to create a tranquil atmosphere unmatched by your standard pleasure garden.

Georgia's regal manors and estates have long been known for their gardens as well as their architecture. The Hills & Dales Estate in LaGrange is surrounded by dozens of acres that have been cultivated for over 170 years. The centerpiece is a 1912 Georgian Italian villa, designed by famed architects Hal Hentz and Neel Reid, which is decorated with family heirlooms and antiques. Guests can explore the manor, stroll through the extensive boxwood gardens, admire aged fountains and even reserve the property for private events. Milledgeville is home to Lockerly Arboretum, a 50-acre living museum with outdoor and indoor classrooms whose centerpiece is Lockerly Hall, an 1839 antebellum mansion. Formerly known as Rose Hill, this eye-catching manor is one of the area's finest examples of Greek Revival architecture fully furnished with period pieces. More than 3,000 kinds of plants from around the world are revealed along the hiking and driving trails that roam the property.

Hickory Hill in Thomson was the 256-acre estate of Thomas E. Watson, a fiery Georgia politician first elected to congress in 1890. Now, the property and its stately Greek Revival mansion, historic farm buildings, woodland gardens and walking trails are open to the public. Many of the grand trees on the property were planted under Watson's direction generations ago. Instead of being landscaped in a formal layout, the gardens are wave upon wave of wooded space, including dogwoods, maples, deodar cedars, banana shrubs and magnolias, providing a welcoming habitat for wildlife and vegetation of all types.

Thomasville's grand Pebble Hill Plantation sits on 3,000 acres and dates to 1825, though the present manor home was designed in the 1930s by former President Garfield's son, Abram Garfield. Seventy-seven acres of the grounds are open for public exploration and include the gardens and beautifully landscaped sections with designs dating to the 1920s. Framing the house are camellias, dogwoods, magnolias, azaleas, tea olives and the state's own Cherokee roses. Kids love the shrubbery maze on the front lawn, while everything from towering pines to crabapple walks to vegetable gardens can be found close by.

Gardens at Georgia's resorts offer pristine landscapes alongside diverse experiences and entertainment. Sitting on 1,400 landscaped acres just waiting for an intimate weekend, strategic meeting or special event is Barnsley Gardens Resort in Adairsville. Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, this luxurious retreat boasts golf, wingshooting, fly-fishing, horseback riding, kayaking and 160-year-old gardens with hundreds of varieties of heirloom roses. Built in the 1840s, the grounds were inspired by Andrew Jackson Downing, the architect who designed the grounds of the U.S. Capitol and White House. Today, expertly manicured antique roses and exotic plants continue to delight vacationers from all over.

Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain offers guests a haven for rejuvenation and pleasure. From award-winning gardens to top-ranked golf courses, magnificent lodges to soothing spas, this retreat will leave you satisfied and refreshed. Its many gardens are enchanting, including the 40-acre Azalea Bowl garden with more than 3,400 hybrid azaleas, Mr. Cason's Vegetable Garden featured on the PBS TV show 'The Victory Garden' and the original Overlook Garden with more than 700 varieties of azalea shrubs. Also enjoy the Day Butterfly Center, Sibley Horticultural Center and Virginia Hand Callaway Discovery Center, which offer hands-on experiences and daily programs throughout the year.

Curious gardeners will definitely want to clear their calendars for some of Georgia's fabulous gardening festivals and workshops. The 88th annual Thomasville Rose Show and Festival has long been a southern springtime tradition. Great food, sporting events, arts and crafts captivate attendees, while rose enthusiasts will get their fill at the premier event in Georgia's City of Roses.

A perennial favorite for both history and garden buffs alike, The Savannah Tour of Homes & Gardens has been a Georgia tradition for over 70 years. Travel through the state's colonial capital, home to the largest urban landmark historic district in the nation, where roughly six private homes and/or gardens will be open for your pleasure. A different neighborhood will be featured on each of the four days, allowing visitors to explore all parts of Georgia's first city.

Visitors to Savannah can also enjoy the Savannah Garden Exposition. With full-size exhibition gardens, demonstrations, children's activities, open-air market and a walking tour of twelve private grounds, this event gets you behind the walls of some of Savannah's most distinctive gardens. Also on the tour is the award winning Massie School Garden, a community project of the Garden Club. Augusta's Sacred Heart Cultural Center will help kick off the spring with the 18th annual Sacred Heart Garden Festival. Go for the exhibits, lectures and unique vendors and enjoy tours of private gardens and entertainment as you mingle with other garden buffs.

From the first garden club in America to the American Camellia Society, the beautiful Cherokee rose to a city known for its abundant roses, gardening has deep roots in Georgia. Log on to www.exploregeorgia.org today to plan your next gardening getaway.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state's sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a location for film, video and music projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development.

American Camellias Society -  www.camellias-acs.com/
Atlanta Botanical Garden – www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org
Atlanta History Center – www.atlantahistorycenter.com
Bamboo Farm and Coastal Gardens – www.ugaextension.com/bamboo
Barnsley Gardens Resort – www.barnsleyresort.com
Callaway Gardens - www.callawaygardens.com/
Dunaway Gardens – www.dunawaygardens.com
Founders Memorial Gardens – www.ced.uga.edu/index.php/facilities/detail/founders_memorial_garden/
Guido Gardens – www.guidogardens.com/gardens_main.htm
Hickory Hill – www.hickory-hill.org
Hills & Dales Estate – www.hillsanddalesestate.org
Ladies Garden Club of Athens - http://gardencentral.org/georgia/ladiesgardenclub/
Lockerly Arboretum – www.lockerlyarboretum.org
Pebble Hill Plantation - www.pebblehill.com/
Massee Lane Gardens – www.camellias-acs.com/display.aspx?catid=4,68
Massie School Garden - www.gcofsavnogstour.org/index.php
Sacred Heart Garden Festival – April 24-26 – www.sacredheartgardenfestival.com
Savannah Garden Exposition – April 17-19 - www.savannahgardenexpo.com/index.html
Savannah Tour of Homes and Gardens – March 26-29, 2009 – www.savannahtourofhomes.org
The State Botanical Garden of Georgia – www.uga.edu/botgarden/index.html
Thomasville Rose Show and Festival – April 23-25, 2009 – www.thomasvillega.com