Leaves hotel promptly at 8:30 a.m.. Please arrive at the Level 1 Foyer 15 minutes prior to departure time.
Fee: $115.00 per person - Admission fees and lunch cost included.
Advance registration required.
Please note that in case of insufficient registered participants, the tour will be cancelled and you will be fully refunded.
8:30 am – 10:20 am Fern Garden of the World at Georgia Perimeter College
(http://www.gpcnativegarden.org/fern_garden.htm). This is your opportunity to see one of the largest collections of temperate zone ferns in the US (more species of ferns than any other US garden), including native and non-native temperate ferns. The gardens also include three new xeric fern beds.
10:50 am - 12:00 pm Clough Commons at Georgia Tech
From the Fern Garden, we will travel to Clough Commons at Georgia Tech (http://clough.gatech.edu/sustainability.html) to check out their Roof Garden. Clough Commons is designed to be a sustainable building and is the first building on the GT campus (and one of the first in Atlanta) to have a completely usable Roof Garden. This landscape terrace has 39 species of native plants, uses rooftop solar panels as a renewable energy source, and includes a 1.4 million gallon cistern (one of the largest in the US) for water harvesting, resulting in 89% projected water reuse for toilet flushing and water efficient landscaping. Don’t miss getting to see this spot!
12:30 pm – 2 pm Cator Woolford Gardens at the Frazer Center
We’ll stop for lunch at the Cator Woolford Gardens at the Frazer Center (http://www.frazercenter.org/inclusive-community/gardens/) in downtown. This is a rare opportunity to see these gardens that were originally part of the estate of Cator Woolford, cofounder of EquiFax, Inc. One of the few remaining historic estates in Metro Atlanta, the gardens include a ceremony lawn, bamboo garden, courtyard, original mansion, atrium (floor to ceiling windows and glass mosaic mural), and 39 acres of mature hardwood forest. We won’t see it all, but we catch a glimpse of this rare beauty!
2:30 pm – 5 pm Atlanta History Center
Our tour then heads to the Atlanta History Center where the red carpet treatment begins! Enjoy garden tours (http://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/explore/goizueta-gardens) guided by staff and opportunity to visit 7 other exhibits and the historic homes. AHC is 22 acres of gardens and trails with 6 distinct gardens showing the horticultural history of Atlanta including the Quarry Garden (3 acres, about 600 species of plants native to pre-settlement Georgia, many that are rare and/or endangered such as the Franklin Tree, yaupon holly, and native azaleas), the Smith Garden (representative of the 1860s, includes a vegetable garden, corn and cotton, and old fashioned ornamental flowers such as love-lies-bleeding and rose campion), the Swan House Gardens and Grounds (boxwood garden and fountain), and more.
Our day concludes by returning to the Sheraton in early evening. Come prepared to enjoy this terrific garden sites with comfortable attire, walking shoes, and your hat! Oh, and don’t forget your camera! There’s sure to be something stunning along the way!