Atlanta | Gainesville | January – April 2022
Sculptures sprout at Orchid Daze Flower Show’s winter escape Countdown to
Atlanta Blooms!
| Atlanta President’s Message When I arrived at the Garden in the summer of 2002, I knew three things for certain: One, that we had a parking problem, two, that I wanted to bring glass artist Dale Chihuly to the Garden as soon as possible and three, that we had a beautiful piece of property in Gainesville for developing a satellite garden. For obvious reasons, numbers two and three excited me the most! The Gainesville woodland property came to us through a very generous gift made by Charles and Lessie Smithgall. Their vision was to preserve their home property in perpetuity as a green legacy for the community. Fortunately, the Garden was the grateful recipient of their generosity, and today we have a beautiful Gainesville garden that is a green attraction for families and guests. Gainesville’s visitor and member base has grown in recent years, especially since opening the Ada Mae Pass Ivester Children’s Garden. As a result, we plan to expand the Garden’s parking to serve an additional 300 vehicles. Fortunately, we are able to terrace the parking so that crabapple trees and grape vines can be planted as screens for each terrace. Besides the garden itself, the site also includes two important plant nurseries dedicated to growing our conservation collections from the southeastern United States and Asia. The nurseries are the horticultural hub for our important plant conservation work and essential to our future plans to conserve rare plants here and in Asia. Last June, our dear friend and generous patron Lessie Smithgall passed away at the age of 110. I am so grateful that she was with us when we broke ground on the garden and again when we opened it in 2015. Lessie kept a watchful eye out for the garden and joined us for many events hosted there over the last six years. The Homeplace, a serenely beautiful piece of property where the Smithgalls lived for more than 50 years, will now become a part of the Gainesville garden. We have special plans for this quiet and beautiful place; it will be used as a conservation and education retreat center where the important science of plant conservation can be shared in a thoughtful and productive way. We envision visiting scientists, interns and naturalists staying at the center while sharing ideas and techniques for growing and preserving plants. The Smithgall home will become the centerpiece of this new conservation “think tank,” where the beautiful views, wild turkeys and native woodlands will inspire teams to work together to better the planet and save plants, one species at a time. What a remarkable gift Lessie and Charles made to their community and to our world when they set aside almost 200 wooded acres for the study and enjoyment of nature. That is the Smithgall woodland legacy, and we are so proud to care for their gift today and into the future. Mary Pat Matheson Anna and Hays Mershon President & CEO
| Official News Publication for Members of the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Atlanta | Gainesville Vice President, Marketing: Jessica Boatright | Editor: Danny Flanders | Designer: Bo Shell | Membership Manager: Claudia McDavid 2
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Atlanta |
orchid daze Exhibition features the joyful sculptures of artist Kristine Mays
Orchid Daze celebrates the return of spring with an exhibition of artist Kristine Mays’ jubilant sculptures set amongst the warm, vibrant landscape of the Fuqua Orchid Center February 12 – April 10. The San Francisco-based sculptor creates life-sized, three-dimensional figures from fine metal strands intricately woven together that often evoke a spirit of flowing movement or dance. Much of the inspiration for her work is a series of photos capturing the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater Company performing “Revelations.” “These images reflect joy, jubilation and hope,” Mays said in a recent New York Times interview. The artist has exhibited her work in Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco and Miami as well as the Filoli Historic House and Garden in Woodside, CA., and most recently at Hillwood Estate, Museum and
Gardens in Washington, D.C. Mays creates vignettes of multiple figures, each made from hundreds of fine-gauge strands of steel wire looped together, requiring from 60 to 100 hours to complete. Her exhibition Rich Soil at historic Hillwood Estate consisted of groupings of 29 of the ethereal figures rising from the pastoral landscape. Mays described the display as “a celebration of all of the enslaved people who once toiled on the property, and this idea of them coming back, like their spirits rising up from the soil and rejoicing now that they’re free.” “My sculptures . . . create a form that reveals an invisible occupant, a soul, a life. I often say that I am ‘breathing life into wire.’ I love the idea of creating work where the focus reveals the essence of a person and that speaks to humanity as a whole.” For Orchid Daze, three floral landscapes will complement the artist’s work with orchids that echo the movement and joy found in the sculptures. Some of the figures will rise
from carpets of golden Dancing Lady orchids as delicate moth orchids hover in the background and long strands of exuberant Vandas encircle them.
Becky Brinkman Fuqua Orchid Center Manager
Valentine’s in the Garden
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with your sweetie or even just with friends during an exciting evening in the Garden Saturday, Feb. 12, 7 – 11 p.m. Enjoy cocktails, refreshments, live music, dancing and more while exploring Orchid Daze at night. For ticket information, visit atlantabg.org. 3
Spring exhibition features larger-than-life metal sculptures The delicate nature of paper art meets the monumental forms of metal sculpture this spring during Origami in the Garden. The exhibition, presented May 7 – Oct. 16, features 18 installations of nearly 70 museum-quality metal sculptures inspired by the Japanese art of folding paper that are the creations of Santa Fe artists Kevin and Jennifer Box. Throughout the Garden will be large-scale sculptures of flying birds, emerging butterflies, grazing deer, floating boats and more. The highlight of the show will be “Master Peace,” a 25-foot-tall sculpture of hundreds of stainless steel origami peace cranes towering over Howell Fountain. Origami in the Garden features Kevin Box’s own compositions as well as collaborations with world-renowned origami artists Te Jui Fu, Beth Johnson, Michael G. LaFosse and Robert L. Lang. All are larger than life, some more than 20 feet tall, and all based on prototypes created with origami – one folded sheet of paper with no cuts. The Boxes collaborate to create their sculptures using a technique that mimics origami by glorifying its precision. “We primarily use the lost-wax casting technique, which I jokingly say is a very simple 35-step, 12-week process,” Kevin Box said. “I use wax and paper; we actually take big sheets of metal and cut them into the shapes, then weld them back together.”
CONVERSATION PEACE Garden guests can get a taste for Origami in the Garden from a new sculpture by Kevin Box on loan to Midtown Alliance and recently installed at Peachtree and Tenth streets. The sculpture, “Conversation Peace,” features the unlikely combination of rock, paper and scissors, symbolizing, Box said, conflicting forces that have found balance.
| Atlanta
Floral fantasy... Flower Show blooms with touch of spring
Metamorphosis for sure! The Atlanta Botanical Garden Flower Show just keeps evolving into the perfect means for satisfying that hunger for springtime. Showcasing the theme Metamorphosis, this third biennial event, held indoors at the Midtown garden, highlights stunning creations in the competitive divisions of Horticulture, Floral Design and Photography. In addition, the show features educational displays of Ikebana (Japanese floral design) and the Garden’s plant conservation work. Chaired by Kathy Powell and Blair Robbins, the event honors Mary Wayne Dixon, a longtime supporter of the Garden and dedicated volunteer for flower shows. Atlanta Botanical Garden Flower Show Friday, Feb. 25 – Sunday, Feb. 27 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Member admission: $10 (members age 17 and under free with paid adult admission) Preview Party Thursday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m. Information: abgflowershow.org
...for a good cause Proceeds from the flower show benefit the Garden’s International Plant Exploration Program, including:
Scott McMahan, International Plant Exploration Program Manager, travels the world in search of rare plants.
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Travel expenses for staff working in China and Vietnam as well expenses of several in-country colleagues and students while working in the field.
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Operations of the International Plant Exploration Program Evaluation Nursery in Gainesville, a two-acre home to 507 different plant taxa with multiple collections including more than 1,000 plants.
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A 36-inch tree spade for transplanting trees grown in the nursery to permanent homes in both gardens.
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The Visiting Scholar Program in which the Garden hosts two researchers from collaborating institutions in China and Vietnam for one month, cross training them in propagation protocols, growing techniques and display garden design.
Atlanta |
Vanilla Sunday
New Chihuly tower beckons guests to Storza
Learn all about the prized spice’s orchid origins As stunning orchids burst into bloom in the Garden’s balmy conservatories, celebrate one particularly fascinating species and its namesake spice, widely loved for its alluring aroma and flavor: the Vanilla Orchid. On March 6 from 1 - 4 p.m. visit during Vanilla Sunday to learn how the flowers of Vanilla planifolia become a spice to flavor favorite desserts, stop by the Conservatory Orangerie to see a Vanilla Orchid stretching toward the sun and then sample a few vanilla recipes by local chefs and a mini ice cream sundae while supplies last. Originally from Mexico, Vanilla Orchids are now cultivated for market in select countries near the equator, with Madagascar dominating production. The second most expensive spice in the world, vanilla is outpriced only by saffron, the delicate handharvested stigmas of crocus flowers. Like saffron, vanilla production is labor-intensive, and crops are vulnerable to intense weather events, both leading to high value. The prized vanilla “bean” used in cooking is actually the orchid’s fruit containing tiny seeds and chemical compounds including vanillin, a strong player in the smell and taste associated with vanilla. While vanillin is also synthetically manufactured to replicate vanilla’s flavor, only the orchid can produce true vanilla.
The new year brings a beacon of light to Storza Woods with the addition of a new Chihuly sculpture. Radiant Yellow Icicle Tower, a 30-foot-tall, brilliant glass sculpture created by Seattle artist Dale Chihuly, was installed in December in the Glade Garden, reaching toward the sky and reflecting on the surface of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation Water Mirror below. The gleaming tower creates a dramatic counterpoint to the cascading waterfalls and quiet pools of the recently completed Mary Ellen Imlay Channel Garden. Illuminated at night with exterior spot lighting, the tower was chosen to replace another Chihuly sculpture, the neon Saffron Tower, because of the resilience of the new sculpture’s blown glass forms. The new art marks the third addition of a Chihuly sculpture to the Garden’s permanent sculpture collection – Parterre Fountain in the Levy Parterre has become a Garden icon, while the Nepenthes Chandelier in the Hardin Visitor Center is inspired by the pitcher plants that are focus of the Garden’s plant conservation work. In addition, a series of Chihuly drawings hangs prominently in Longleaf restaurant.
Heather Chiller, Public Programs Manager
FUN FACTS Each vanilla-growing region produces vanilla with distinct aromas and attributes that make it well-suited to certain uses. A vanilla vine can produce many flowers, but each flower blooms only one day a year, making hand pollination essential for success in agricultural crops. Loved for its aroma, flavor and unique properties, vanilla is found in everything from food to personal and home products and homeopathic medicines.
From pollination to market, it takes about nine months to produce vanilla. The fruits are harvested green, then cured by a process that includes blanching, sweating and drying. French vanilla ice cream contains egg yolks that give it a distinct creamy texture and light yellow color. Ever wonder what those little black flecks are in it? They are orchid seeds, sometimes referred to as “caviar”. The new sculpture will be similar to Dale Chihuly’s Yellow Icicle Tower (2012) at Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. © 2021, Chihuly Studio. All rights reserved. atlantabg.org
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Atlanta Blooms! Annual spring bulb festival pops up for 11th year
This March and April, Atlanta Blooms! enters its second decade of ushering in spring. Guests would think that after 11 years of planning for, planting and seeing thousands of blooms unfurl that for Garden staff the annual spring bulb festival would be old hat, but nothing could be further from the truth. “For the horticulture team, Atlanta
Blooms is a magical time of year,” said Amanda Bennett, Vice President, Horticulture & Collections. “Seeing the colorful and cheerful fruits of our labor after several months of work in cold, dreary weather sparks excitement every time.” Beginning in November, planting beds are emptied of bold, tropical foliage and flowers left from summer, and after some
healthy soil prep, thousands of bulbs are placed out and planted, one by one by hand. “I’m not going to lie – it’s hard,” Bennett said. “It’s a bit of a joke that it’s not a ‘big bed’ until you hit quadruple digits of bulbs.” Yet even more magic happens behind the scenes, where pots and islands are planted, awaiting the first signs of growth before being transferred to the garden, like
Bulb lasagna Bulbs should be planted at a depth of twice the length of the bulb. And by planting bulbs in layers – much like creating lasagna – gardeners can overlap their bloom times, extending the seasonal color. Bon apetit!
CROCUS HYACINTH
TULIPS
DAFFODILS
actors waiting in the wings. Not since the beginning of the event has Atlanta Blooms! featured large “floating islands” of bulbs in the Skyline Garden pond. This spring, five 8-foot-by-4-foot islands will spill with 600 Rainbow River tulip mix and 600 ‘Fellows Favourite’ daffodils. And once again, the main pathways will be lined with pots planted with bulbs
at various depths like layers of lasagna for extending the display of color throughout the season. Hyacinth ‘City of Haarlem’, Early Sunny Mix tulips and Muscari ‘Julia’ kick off the beauty along the Southern Seasons Garden Promenade, followed by Tulipa ‘Crystal Star’ and Anemone ‘Lord Lieutenant’. Extending along Crape Myrtle Alee, look for some all-time staff
favorites with Hyacinth ‘Woodstock’s’ fragrance leading the way before Anemone ‘Governor’, Tulipa ‘Queen of Night’, Tulipa ‘Mount Tacoma’ and Narcissus ‘Stainless’ steal the show for a final act. Finishing up in front of the Fuqua Conservatory will be Narcissus ‘Marieke’, Tulipa ‘Black Parrot’ and Anemone ‘Sylphide’ in pots placed along the wall. atlantabg.org
| Atlanta
The Inspired Gardener Virtual symposium sets the mood for spring Tired of the holidays and ready to shake off the winter blues? Get in a springtime frame of mind with a full day of new ideas from seasoned experts at The Inspired Gardener virtual symposium Saturday, Jan. 29. The fee is $65 ($60 for Garden and GPPA members), and the symposium, set for 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., will be recorded and available for viewing up to two weeks after the event. To register, visit atlantabg.org. Presented by the Garden and the Georgia Perennial Plant Association, the event features five presentations:
WHAT MAKES A SOUTHERN GARDEN SOUTHERN? Todd Lasseigne, Executive Director of Bellingrath Gardens and Home in Theodore, Ala., gives a lively examination of where Southern gardens have been and where they’re headed.
CHANNEL GARDEN GREATNESS AND CHALLENGES Amanda Bennett, the Garden’s Vice President, Horticulture & Collections, and Horticulture Manager Michael Sheek pull back the curtain on what it takes to curate a new garden, despite labor and supply issues.
KNOCKOUT NATIVES
THE INFLUENCERS Abra Lee, founder of Conquer the Soil, a social media platform dedicated to celebrating the history, folklore and art of horticulture, discusses historic legacies among black Americans and the plants they used to beautify their homes and communities.
THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF CONTAINER GARDENING: FROM MEDIA TO NUTRITION Bryce Lane, retired horticulture instructor at NC State University, explores the science behind creating an outstanding environment for plants in containers, from soil selections and fertility to repotting and overwintering.
Sam Hoadley, Manager of Horticultural Research at Mt. Cuba Center botanical garden near Wilmington, De., highlights outstanding native species and cultivars from trials and examines why they’re standouts.
Who’s ready to
GARDEN PARTY!?
Don your widest brimmed hat and flower-forward frocks for a modern twist on a classic outdoor party. Enjoy cocktails, refreshments, live music and fun entertainment while strolling among hundreds of thousands of dazzling spring bulbs at Garden Party, a special ticketed event, Saturday, March 26 from 5 – 9 p.m. Look for fashion contests, photo ops, flower arranging demos and more. For ticket information, visit atlantabg.org.
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Atlanta |
Paperbush pretty Boldly fragrant Edgeworthia puts a rush on spring During late winter, when many plants are dormant waiting for springtime, there’s an early-blooming shrub that brightens up any spot with a touch of color and a gardenia-like scent. Paperbush, Edgeworthia chrysantha, is a deciduous shrub with numerous upright stems and medium green, leathery, 3- to 5-inch leaves shaped like a lance. It can reach 6 feet tall and 6 feet wide on average. Paperbush features yellow, fragrant flowers that bloom in clusters at its branch tips from February to April. The species name chrysantha derives from the Greek chrysos meaning “golden” and “anthos”’ meaning flower, because of the gold-colored flowers. Part of the same family as fragrant Daphne, Paperbush is native to southwest China, Nepal, and the Himalayan forests and has been cultivated in Korea and Japan since the late 16th century. The bark fibers of Edgeworthia gardneri are used for making rope, string and high-quality paper. Paperbush is a versatile shrub that also can be planted in a pot or in the ground as a winter focal point. Suitable for hardiness zones 7 and 8, it prefers partial shade to shade. Choose from various cultivars, such as E. chrysantha ‘Akebana’ that has orange-red flowers and ‘Snow Cream’ and ‘Gold Rush’ that offer shades of yellow. In the Garden, look for Paperbush in the Southern Seasons Garden, Japanese Garden, Perennial Garden and Storza Woods. . David Cleghorn, Assistant Horticulturist
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atlanta happenings
| Atlanta
Valentines in the Garden
Saturday, Feb. 12, 7 - 11 p.m. Bring your sweetheart for a romantic evening in the Garden, where fragrant orchids, live entertainment, dancing and refreshments set the mood. For ticket information, visit atlantabg.org.
The Inspired Gardener Saturday, Jan. 29, 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Get in a springtime frame of mind with a full day of new ideas from seasoned experts at The Inspired Gardener virtual symposium. Details at atlantabg.org.
Botanical Drawing Program Learn to draw under the guidance of artist Carol Anne Sutherland. Beginning with principal drawing of the natural world in black and white, the courses develop technique until students gain the ability to dynamically capture majestic trees in graphite pencil and intricate orchids in colored pencil. Upon completion of the program, students will earn a Botanical Drawing Certificate. See the enclosed Education Brochure or visit atlantabg.org for details.
Orchid Daze Saturday, Feb. 12
– Sunday, April 10 Enjoy thousands of beautiful orchids during the Fuqua Orchid Center’s annual exhibition highlighting winter’s favorite plant, complemented by artist Kristine Mays’ metal sculpture.
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Atlanta | Sensory Friendly Event
Saturday, Feb. 19, 1 – 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Experience “the rose of winter” with dozens of cut specimens during the 73rd annual North Georgia Camellia Society Show. To exhibit or for more details, contact President@ northgeorgiacamelliasociety.org.
Monday, March 14, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. During this special event, the Garden is open exclusively for individuals with cognitive and sensory processing disabilities, and their families. Explore the beautiful spring garden and engage with special learning and art stations.
Botanical Mysteries
Atlanta Botanical Garden Flower Show
Thursday, March 17 – Sunday, March 20 Families are invited to use their super sleuth skills to solve botanical mysteries at the Garden. For this self-led adventure, families pick up a guide in the Visitor Center before embarking on their botanical voyage through the beautiful garden. Suggested ages: 6 – 10. Free with admission.
Friday, Feb. 25 – Sunday, Feb. 27, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. With the theme Metamorphosis, the biennial indoor show highlights the beauty of thousands of plant specimens as well as the fine art of floral design and photography. Preview Party: Thursday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m.
Atlanta Blooms! March - April Explore hundreds of thousands of tulips, daffodils, crocuses and hyacinths. Check out a variety of ways to grow bulbs, including container gardens and floating islands. Watch for updates on peak bloom times at atlantabg.org
Garden Party
Saturday, March 26, 5 - 9 p.m. Enjoy cocktails, refreshments, live music and fun entertainment while strolling among hundreds of thousands of dazzling spring bulbs.
Vanilla Sunday
atlanta happenings
Camellia Show
Sunday, March 6, 1 - 4 p.m. Enjoy the annual celebration of the vanilla orchid. Learn more about the process of turning vanilla beans into a key extract for desserts and sample a mini vanilla ice cream sundae.
Spring Break Family Fun Monday, April 4 – Friday, April 8, 10 a.m. – noon Need an exciting family activity during spring break? Visit the Garden and enjoy the wonders of springtime with fun and seasonal family activities.
Earth Day Friday, April 22, 10 a.m. – noon Visit the Garden for fun and engaging family activities celebrating nature and the beautiful plants all around.
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| Gainesville
A Note from the Director This year promises to be an exciting one for the Gainesville garden, with an expansion project, new programming and an exciting exhibition. But before sharing those details, I would like to thank the devoted group of volunteers who support our efforts at the garden. From greeting visitors to Nature Ambassadors in the Children’s Garden to repotting or weeding in the greenhouse or garden, we could not be successful without them. I am thrilled to announce that Beverly Halsey will become our new part-time Volunteer Coordinator. She has been with the Gainesville garden in Visitor Services for five years and will bring new energy and enthusiasm to both our current volunteer team and new volunteer recruitment. Late winter or early spring will bring the sound of bulldozers to the garden as we begin phase 1 of our parking lot expansion. We are very excited to be able to add about 300 new spaces, with more to come in a second phase of expansion. This will be a great opportunity to reduce and eventually eliminate our use of shuttle buses for concert performances. It will also allow us to expand our current program offerings – from tours to smaller concerts to Family Fun Days. In addition, the garden is excited to welcome Sean Kenney’s Nature Connects Made With LEGO Bricks from March – May. We hosted a previous Nature Connects exhibition the first year the garden was open, and it was a delight for children, parents and grandparents. The new exhibit will be nestled into a more mature garden, now nearly seven years old! And finally, look for exciting changes and additions from summer through fall to our perennial borders and Stream Garden. As the garden matures, light and soil conditions change, and we must adjust plantings accordingly. This will be a wonderful opportunity to add not only tried-and-true perennials but also new cultivars of old standards as well. Look forward to seeing you in the garden! Mildred Fockele Gainesville Garden Director
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Nature Connects
Brick by brick, new exhibit aims to connect guests with nature
The Gainesville Garden will present a new sculpture exhibition this spring that begs the question: How are elements of the natural world connected? Sean Kenney’s Nature Connects Made with LEGO® Bricks, set for March 4 – May 30, features sculptures by artist Sean Kenney constructed entirely of LEGO bricks. These precisely built yet whimsical pieces are designed to inspire both the young and the young-at-heart about the natural world. Kenney uses only standard, off-theshelf, commercially available LEGO pieces for his sculptures – no special colors or shapes. Each piece is connected to another, and the sculptures are built within the rules of the LEGO system. The sculptures require exacting detail and countless hours – the roseate skimmer dragonfly, for example, took more than 500 hours to build, while the intricate corn spider required 135 hours. For the exhibition, 15 sculptures will be nestled among beds throughout the main garden, creating a sense of exploration and adventure as visitors stroll along the pathways. They reflect themes that include pollination, endangered animals and habitat preservation. The largest piece is a stunning, ornate peacock constructed of more than 68,000 bricks. There are
In 2015, the Gainesville garden presented a Nature Connects exhibit that included a butterfly, praying mantis and hummingbird. also deer in the garden (the LEGO bricks kind), with a buck and doe watching over a baby fawn. Because the exhibition surely will inspire budding artists, ecologists and builders to dream big, after seeing the sculptures guests no doubt will want to go home and create their own sculptures. Mildred Fockele Gainesville Garden Director
Gainesville |
Spring can’t be far away when these natives pop up As the tide of springtime rolls in, the path beneath the bare woody canopy suddenly comes to life. Without competition from deciduous trees for light, spring ephemerals quickly emerge, putting on a show until the forest breaks dormancy. Such conditions allow these plants to thrive before trees put out new foliage as the fallen leaves provide moisture and nutrients as well as pollination by ants and
other tenants of the forest floor. Although they fade almost as quickly as they appear, ephemerals are hardly uncommon. In the Southeast, many native spring ephemerals can be found growing en masse throughout deciduous forests. Hannah Umstead Assistant Horticulturist
January – April Topics include beekeeping, meadowscaping, photography, container gardening, painting and more. Details at gainesvillegarden.org.
Nature Connects Tuesday, March 4 – Monday, May 30 Sean Kenney’s Nature Connects Made with LEGO® Bricks features nature-inspired sculptures that are larger than life.
Eggstravagant Scavenger Hunt Tuesday, March 29 – Sunday, April 17 Pick up festive, egg-themed scavenger hunt information in the Visitor Center for a fun, family-led excursion in the Garden.
TRILLIUM
Easily recognized by its whorl of three leaves, Trillium species produce only a solitary flower after seven to nine years. These perfect flowers with petals also in threes can be red, purple, pink, white, yellow or green depending on the species.
Virtual Spring Plant Sale Members Only Access: Tuesday, April 5 – Monday, April 11 Public Access: Tuesday, April 12 – Thursday, April 14 Enhance your landscape with a variety of offerings available at the annual plant sale, featuring unusual native and non-native plants grown in the Gainesville garden.
gainesville happenings
Ephemeral beauty
Adult Education Classes
TROUT-LILY
BLOODROOT
Another early native, Sanguinaria canadensis, commonly known as Bloodroot because of the red sap produced in its rhizomes, has delicate white flowers that emerge from deeply lobed kidney-shaped leaves. A close look at the leaves in sunlight may reveal the presence of an orangecolored latex produced in defense against herbivores.
Spring has officially arrived when the leaves of Dimpled Trout-Lily (Erythronium umbilicatum) emerge dark green and mottled with purple. Several weeks later a flash of yellow blooms accompanies the unusual leaves. Similar to some Trillium species, the reflexed flowers of Trout-Lilies produce seed possessing an elaiosome, an appendage rich in oils, fats and proteins. This special adaptation for ant seed dispersal is truly fascinating and easily observed in the silence of early spring. atlantabg.org
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Atlanta Botanical Garden 1345 Piedmont Avenue, NE Atlanta, GA 30309
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QUESTIONS? Call 404-591-1539 or email membership@atlantabg.org
commonground SUPPORT THE GARDEN AS A VOLUNTEER! Turn over a new a leaf and start off 2022 volunteering at the Garden! Spring orientation sessions include: • Garden Essential Maintenance: Assist the staff with outdoor gardening tasks one morning a week, available Monday - Friday. Under the direction of horticulture professionals, help weed, prune, plant, harvest and perform other basic gardening tasks.
Member Spring Evening
ATLANTA: Monday, April 4, 5 – 8 p.m. Emerge from winter like the spring bulbs and enjoy an evening featuring live music and surprise entertainment.
• Discovery Volunteers: Teach Garden visitors about plant collections, conservation work and current exhibitions. Volunteers are given talking points and props to answer questions and provide information to enhance the visitor experience. To learn more. contact Volunteer Manager Josh Todd at jtodd@atlantabg.org.
DIRECTOR’S CLUB & ABOVE
Orchid Daze Soiree
planthotline
ATLANTA: Thursday, March 10, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. Members of the Director’s Club and Arbor, Magnolia and Orchid circles are invited to an elegant event to remember! Enjoy a cocktail reception with entertainment, tasty hors d’oeuvres and desserts, then explore the thousands of stunning and fragrant orchids. To upgrade to Director’s Club or one of the Circle levels, call 404-591-1538. CONTRIBUTING & ABOVE
Light Bites & Garden Insights
GAINESVILLE: Friday, April 22, 6 - 7:30 p.m. Contributing-level and above members are invited to a riveting presentation on bog plants by Garden conservationists while enjoying light refreshments. To upgrade to the Contributing level, call 404-591-1544. 16
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO PLANT NATIVE PLANTS?
Origami in the Garden Member Preview Monday, May 2, Contributing & Above; Tuesday, May 3 & Thursday, May 5, All Members; 6 - 9 p.m. Be among the first to experience the new spring exhibition Origami in the Garden, featuring larger-than-life metal origami sculptures nestled in the Garden’s lush summer beds.
Clippings is available online at issuu.com/atlantabotanicalgarden
Native plants occur naturally in a region and are part of the natural ecological system. All life, including insects, birds and humans, has some dependence on the plants. Native plants, which include trees, shrubs, vines, perennials and wildflowers, are pollinator-friendly, provide protective shelter and offer essential foods for all forms of wildlife. More information and a complete list of Georgia’s native plants can be found on the University of Georgia Extension Service website: bit.ly/GANativePlants.
404-888-GROW planthotline@atlantabg.org