A Holiday Reprieve the Whole World Needs

By Paige Adams

The season of giving brings us into the spirit as the garden gears up for the holiday season. Christmas in the Garden will feature a light show experience throughout the three main gardens; the Rose garden, the Perennial garden, and the Ginko Shade garden, which can be seen from the front parking lot off of Weems Road. This will allow for a drive-through alternative to adhere to precautions amid the pandemic.

provided by Columbus Botanical Garden

“So many families get in their car after dinner and they drive through their neighborhood or around town and check out Christmas lights and we wanted Columbus Botanical garden to be on their agenda” said Interim Executive Director Dawn Grantham.

provided by Columbus Botanical Garden

If there’s ever been a time for nature, beauty, community and the outdoors, it’s been this year. Lucky for us, we have beauty abound at the Columbus Botanical Garden. Whether it be an evening stroll with the family along the one-mile Joann Holt Walking Trail, a picnic in one of their five beautiful gardens, or attending one of their fabulous events, the gardens will doubtless serve as a place of solace for anyone looking to unwind and enrich their soul by themselves or with the family.

provided by Columbus Botanical Garden

The calming atmosphere is perfect for a nature recharge without having to go far off the beaten path. The garden sits just at the edge of Weems Road neighborhoods and just a brief drive from the bustling Columbus Park Crossing shopping center, offering a convenient location to all members of the community. While donations are welcome, and events may run a nominal ticket fee, general daily admission to the gardens is completely free. The gardens have several upcoming events to offer to the community including Christmas in the Garden, the Nankipooh house concert series, and the Sam Pate SAMposium event.

Belletti Photography

While the garden offers a beautiful and relaxing space for the community, the benefit goes beyond aesthetics and comfort. Earlier this year the garden became a part of a community endeavor called #NourishColumbus along with the Food Mill to battle food insecurities in the community. Chandler Collins, Director of Development at the garden explained that their Sally H. Adams Vegetable Terrace “is 100 percent dedicated to [growing] vegetables that end up being given to the Food Mill where they prepare meals, then give the prepared meals to Mercy Med, Highland Community Church, and Truth Spring Academy.”

The Food Mill, 3718 2nd Ave

Belletti Photography

“All of this is in an effort to nourish the people of Columbus and give them alternatives,” Collins said.“When you don’t have a grocery store nearby you walk to the corner store and you eat food that doesn’t serve you.”

Donations made at Columbus Botanical garden to the #NourishColumbus’ cause will go directly to the needs of the vegetable garden to support the effort to fight food insecurity. “We’ve got to make things more economically viable as well as accessible to help change this,” Collins said.

#NourishColumbus

Belletti Photography

Entrance to the lighted garden experience will be free as the garden aims to offer the community safe and convenient holiday cheer. “We want to be able to provide something cool for our families for the holiday season, but we want to be really mindful of everyone’s safety,” added Grantham. Times and dates are to be determined.

The new year will bring new vibes to the garden with the launch of their Nankipooh house concert series, named for the area of town that was once referred to as such. Nankipooh will launch on January 2 with the band Los Coast featuring lead singer and Columbus native, Trey Privott. The event will be a recurring series, to include various indie music groups. The events will offer beer, wine, and food vendors along with the concert. Tickets will run from $15-$25.

Looking ahead to spring, the Columbus community can plan for the SAMposium event at the garden from March 13-14. The SAMposium is a naturalist symposium event centered on bird watching and in honor of Sam Pate, “a local and regional birding luminary and nature lover extraordinaire,” as stated on the garden’s website, who passed away in August of 2019.

The staff at the garden are committed to the safety of their guests and have inherent social distancing in the open atmosphere of the outdoor spaces and will be implementing social distancing at their coming events. They also ask guests to take advantage of hand sanitizing and washing when available and to be sure to wear a mask indoors.

Those who are looking for further social distancing options may be interested in taking advantage of some of their virtual options, such as the Lunch and Learn Director’s Series where the community can learn more about the various gardens and about horticulture. Tickets for the virtual learning series will cost $8 per session. Collins stated that while the virtual series was implemented as a response to the Coronavirus, it will be a recurring component alongside an in-person one.

You can visit the garden’s website at columbusbotanicalgarden.org to make a charitable donation, become a member with added benefits, or to learn more about their upcoming events. Additionally you can find them on our sister site getlocatix.com and learn more about opportunities to get involved through volunteer work or make reservations for your own event in the beautiful setting that is our Columbus Botanical Garden.