The State Botanical Garden of Georgia is home to a stunning range of collections, displays and trails. Here, our devoted horticultural staff take a moment to introduce them to you.
The Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden
In 2019, the State Botanical Garden of Georgia opened the Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden —the ideal place for children to play and learn in an environment that inspires their sense of adventure, wonder and love for nature. The children’s garden is a 2.5-acre wonderland, teaching families about nature in a fun and interactive way with garden plots and edible plants, a tree-house, fossil wall, granite map of Georgia and more.
Discovery and Inspiration Garden
The Discovery and Inspiration Garden is the very first garden to greet visitors to the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. Surrounding and extending beyond the Porcelain and Decorative Arts Museum, this garden teems with life—plants, flowers, insects, butterflies, pollinators—and invites visitors of all ages to explore and discover.
Flower Garden
The Flower Garden boasts a variety of stunning collections including the Annual Garden, featuring the All-American Selections Display Garden and the Daylily, Daffodil, Iris, Rose and Peony Gardens, the Fragrance Garden, Perennial Garden, Meditation Garden and a Woodland Walk to reach the Wildlife Pavilion. The Flower Garden also hosts the Sunflower Concert Series each summer.
Visit in the spring to see daffodils, roses, iris, fox glove, snapdragons and cherry trees; or come in the fall and see salvia and celosia.
Heritage Garden
The Heritage Garden is a place where our history comes alive. Collections of heirloom flowers, antique roses, fruit crops, row crops and native species highlight plants that have held cultural significance throughout the history of our state.
Visit in the springtime to see azaleas, dogwoods, magnolias and old-fashioned roses in bloom; or come in the fall and winter to see the winter veggies, confederate roses and ripening citrus fruit.
Horticulture Greenhouses
The State Botanical Garden of Georgia’s greenhouses are an oases of botanical diversity and the growing space they provide is an integral part of the garden. The products of the greenhouses can be found in the display bed at the front entrance on Milledge Avenue and other displays beds throughout the grounds and around the buildings. Annual color display production, tropical plant collection management and propagation for plant sales and special events are just a few of the many services the garden’s greenhouse facility provides.
Beginning in 2020, we offer online plant sales from our Greenhouses. Visit this page for more information on how to purchase plants from the garden.
Hummingbird Trail
The Hummingbird Trail was researched and designed by Judy Royal Glenn for the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. The trail shows markers where hummingbirds frequent the garden. The trail is open from May to approximately the first week of October when the hummingbirds typically leave. A Flickr page was designed to allow visitors an opportunity to upload photos taken of hummingbirds in the garden.
International Garden
The International Garden has a bit of everything – history, culture, horticulture and botany. Learn about the origins of plants from around the world and enjoy the babbling stream or have a picnic on the International Garden lawn.
Visit in the springtime to see magnolias, Alabama snow wreath or Chinese sweetshrub blooming; or come in the fall to see camellias and chrysanthemums.
Shade and Native Flora Gardens
The Shade Garden is divided into sections named after each of the Garden Club of Georgia Districts and features collections of flora representative of each district title.
The Dunson Native Flora Garden is the oldest garden at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and offers over 300 species native to the southeastern United States.
Visit in the spring to see the dogwoods, magnolias and azaleas bursting with color; or in the fall, the camellias shine. Summer is a great time for a leisurely stroll in the shade to stay cool.
Trails and Nature Areas
The State Botanical Garden of Georgia has five miles of color-coded nature trails that wind through serene natural areas that connect numerous natural features and native piedmont plant communities, including uncommon features such as: heath bluffs along the Middle Oconee River, amphibolite geology, and floodplain forest and Piedmont prairie restoration areas.
The trails are constructed on native soil, with the exception of occasional wooden bridges over streams and short boardwalks in wetland areas.
Tropical Conservatory, Herb and Physic Garden
The conservatory features plants found exclusively in equatorial climates and informational signs explain their importance in our everyday lives. In the fall, the conservatory is filled with blooming orchids.
The Herb and Physic Garden displays herbs that are culturally and economically significant to ancient peoples around the world.
Visit in the spring to see parsley, lemon balm, raspberry, caladiums and canna lilies; or in the fall to see sage, thyme, kale and Solomon’s seal.