Botanical Garden - Georgia Perimeter College

While I love to visit plants in the wild, doing that is not always possible - some plants are rare or have habitats that are far from me. Botanical gardens can substitute for that desire to some degree. These gardens create ideal conditions for many plants – sunny, shady, dry and wet – so that the plants there thrive. Beautiful blooms, fruit/seed formation and robust growth all contribute to a spectacular presentation of plants.

The Native Plant Botanical Garden at Georgia Perimeter College (GPC) is celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year and is certainly worth a visit to see what’s in bloom in different seasons as well as to take advantage of their walks, talks and plant sales.

I first visited the GPC garden over 12 years ago when I was just learning about native plants. They had a large sunny area, a large woodland setting and were just starting a bog area. They were also propagating and selling a variety of native plants on designated days. The garden was tended by volunteers, and many of them were people who were also involved in the native plant society.

Wild yellow indigo (Baptisia sphaerocarpa)

The woodland area is lush and beautiful

Over the years, the garden has grown and added some new features like a xeric area. Most recently, they completely reworked the main sun beds, changing them from huge rectangles to a curving labyrinth-like path that allows for better access to the individual plants from two sides.

Sunny area lets you get close to plants

Plants are clearly marked with common and Latin names

They’ve also added more walks and talks as well as increased the diversity of plants that they sell. When I was there recently, the number of volunteers tending the gardens was more than ever. Plants were well-labeled, adding to the pleasure of viewing them. I found myself wondering why I hadn’t visited earlier. I picked up a few new plants as well.

Plants are for sale on certain days

Investigate local botanical gardens near you to see what treasures you can find and consider volunteering to help as well. These gardens are beautiful to visit and a great place to learn. For GPC, visit their website to see their schedule for walks, talks and plant sales.