Go Public Gardens Days

For GivingTuesday, we’re asking for donations from the community to help our bees thrive. With your help, we can continue to support Georgia’s pollinators and educate the community about their importance. The annual GivingTuesday celebration of generosity is on November 29, 2022.

A short walk around the woods on the History Center grounds will reveal many large loblolly pines with their tops above the surrounding deciduous trees. These pines reveal that the land preserved within Goizueta Gardens began to reforest shortly after the end of the American Civil War, between 1862 and 1872. The forest that covers much of the campus today is the forest that began to grow at that time.

The diverse botanical landscapes and healthy forests of the Goizueta Gardens are perfect for producing insects and caterpillars and are perfect for summer birds. These are just a few of the birds that are found here in spring and summertime; take a moment in the gardens and you may hear or see them yourself.

On April 10, 1972, Smith Farm opened to the public in a highly publicized event during Atlanta’s Dogwood Festival. A unique project, especially in its time, Smith Farm attracted widespread media attention in both local and national press. 50 years later, Smith Farm is many things: historical time machine to discussing Georgia before, during, and after the Civil War for people both enslaved and free, a story of historic preservation and women’s volunteer efforts, and most of all, an educational cornerstone of the Southeast’s largest history museum.

As February rolls into March, the weather begins to warm and the first of the new year’s spring wildflowers begin to push their fresh growth through last autumn’s leaves. In our Goizueta Gardens, southeastern native plants are a central part of our living collections—spring ephemerals included. They are making their spectacular appearance now, and a few are highlighted here.

From concept planning, garden design and project management, to propagation, installation, ongoing curation and horticultural care of each designated garden—this team does it all and then some.

Many North American bird species migrate to the Caribbean or Central and South America for the winter, but several species do not travel as far, choosing instead to winter in the relatively mild climate of the American Southeast. Let us introduce you to a few of these Georgia winter residents, all recently spotted in Goizueta Gardens.

Atlanta History Center is home to four honey bee colonies named after real-life women who created a lot of buzz in Atlanta history—Selena Sloan Butler, Frances Newman, Shirley Franklin, and Coretta Scott King