September Friends First Friday Behind the Scenes at the SBG Greenhouses

Join us for a behind-the-scenes open house of the production greenhouses at the State Botanical Garden. From 9-11 a.m., the greenhouses will be open to Friends First Friday guests for an open house event. Eli McKinney, greenhouse manager, as well as other horticulture staff, will be on hand to explain plant production, the orchid collection and the functionality of the rarely opened facility. A continental breakfast will be available, so grab a plate and stroll through the facility getting a first look at the fall annual plants before they are put out into the gardens.

Eli McKinney is responsible for producing plants for the curated garden spaces, grounds restoration, plant sales and plant collections. Before coming to work at the garden, he spent many years as a farm manager at a Winterville farm, producing fresh food and cut flowers for local markets and restaurants. He has also worked at Costa Farms as the Trial Garden manager and at the Coastal Georgia Botanical Garden as a grounds foreman. Eli was born and raised in Athens and holds a bachelor’s degree in Horticulture from the University of Georgia.

The registration deadline is noon on Aug. 30.