Buildings & Grounds

Cherokee Garden Library

This hand-colored copperplate engraving of a sunflower by Basilius Besler was published in his seminal work, Hortus Eystettensis, in 1613. One of few crops species that originated in North America, the name sunflower (Helianthus annus L.) comes from the Greek “helios” (sun) and “Anthos” (flower). Historically and today, sunflowers were grown for food, seeds, and oil. A sunflower head can produce up to 1,000 seeds!

Interested in gardening, landscape design, garden history, horticulture, floral design, botanical art, cultural landscapes, natural landscapes, and plant ecology?

Come see over 40,000 books, photographs, manuscripts, seed catalogs, and landscape drawings included in the Cherokee Garden Library, a library of the Kenan Research Center.

These rare and valuable resources tell the diverse and meaningful stories of the people and plants that have shaped the Southeastern United States and areas of influence throughout the world.

Information about hours, location, and appointments here.

Contact Staci L. Catron, Cherokee Garden Library Director, at 404.814.4046 or scatron@atlantahistorycenter.com

Search Our Collections

Upcoming Events

Garden Citings Publication

Explore stories from the Cherokee Garden Library collection, including collection acquisitions, collection highlights, book conservation projects, garden history narratives, historic landscape documentation, programs, donor recognition, and more.

Spring 2025

Black in the Garden. Podcast.

Exploring Black Botanical History

Atlanta History Center is excited to partner with Black in the Garden for a special four-part podcast series exploring Gardens and Cultural Landscapes of Black America, the new digital collection from Cherokee Garden Library. Host Colah B Tawkin explains how this partnership came to be.

Learn More

Past Programs

Our Founding

Founded by the Cherokee Garden Club in 1975, the Cherokee Garden Library is a member of the Southern Garden History Society and The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries.

Learn more about the founding of the Cherokee Garden Library.

For even more information about the Cherokee Garden Library, please contact Garden Library Director, Staci Catron, at 404.814.4046 or scatron@atlantahistorycenter.com.

Explore. More.

  • Exhibition

    Cherokee Garden Library Collection Highlight

    Founded by the Cherokee Garden Club of Atlanta in 1975, the Cherokee Garden Library is named for the state floral emblem of Georgia, the Cherokee rose (Rosa laevigata) and is one of the special collection libraries of the Kenan Research Center.

  • Exhibition

    Seeking Eden

    Through photographs, postcards, landscape plans, and manuscripts, Seeking Eden highlights the importance of historic gardens in Georgia.

  • Buildings & Grounds

    Goizueta Gardens

    Explore highlights of Southeastern horticultural history by taking in 33 acres of enchanting gardens, woodlands, and trails.

  • Learning & Research

    Search the Collections

    Researchers can explore much of Atlanta History Center’s museum, archival, and oral history collections online.