Planting Design for the Sustainable Landscape

Richard Ludwig, PhD, former host of PBS TV’s GardenSmart, past garden specialist for Southern Living Register OnlineThis workshop focuses on the effective use of all types of plant material. This full-day workshop takes an artistic approach, centering on how to combine ......More

Richard Ludwig, PhD, former host of PBS TV’s GardenSmart, past garden specialist for Southern Living Register OnlineThis workshop focuses on the effective use of all types of plant material. This full-day workshop takes an artistic approach, centering on how to combine form, texture and color. How to create and manipulate visual energy is a central theme as well. Students use the paradigm of block design to create stunning combinations. The course also teaches how to draw in a realistic elevation view to help communicate your ideas. Finally, the workshop provides research-based knowledge on soil preparation for herbaceous and woody plants. This workshop is part of the Certificate in Sustainable Landscape Design. You must register for all four workshops. Please see the registration link for more details.

Gardenside Room, 2450 South Milledge Ave., Athens, Georgia, 30605

Nature Ramblers

Free Leaders rotate among a group of local naturalists and biologists, featuring guest guides. Meet at children’s garden arbor. Join the Nature Ramblers to learn more about the natural areas, flora and fauna of the State Botanical Garden while making new friends and enj......More

Free Leaders rotate among a group of local naturalists and biologists, featuring guest guides. Meet at children’s garden arbor. Join the Nature Ramblers to learn more about the natural areas, flora and fauna of the State Botanical Garden while making new friends and enjoying the fresh air. Rambles start with an inspirational reading by a nature writer such as Annie Dillard, John Muir or Janisse Ray. Ramblers are encouraged to bring their own nature writings or favorite poems and essays to share with the group. This is a ramble, not a hike stopping to view interesting plants, insects, butterflies and mushrooms, etc., along the way is part of the experience each week. You can join for just one or all sessions. These informal rambles are free, but donations are accepted in the garden’s donation box in the lobby of the visitor’s center. To get a feel for what these rambles are like, visit http://naturerambling.blogspot.com.

Shade Garden Arbor, 2450 S. Milledge Avenue, Athens, GA, 30605, United States

Ethnobotany of Native Plants: Through the Eyes of Native Americans

Register OnlineMark Warren, author and owner, Medicine Bow Wilderness School This workshop will provide an ethnobotanical journey through a Southern Appalachian forest and field site to discover the gifts of nature that allowed the Native American society to flourish in......More

Register OnlineMark Warren, author and owner, Medicine Bow Wilderness School This workshop will provide an ethnobotanical journey through a Southern Appalachian forest and field site to discover the gifts of nature that allowed the Native American society to flourish in this region. To understand that the forest offered everything that the Native Americans needed is to grasp the essence of precontact Native American life, and at the same time, truly appreciate the individual parts of nature. Participants will explore the crafts and lore of Native American life, including their use of wild plants for food, medicine, repellents and everyday tools. These resources and cultural practices still exist today and continue to be useful to those who follow in the footsteps of the first inhabitants of Katuah, the land we now know as Southern Appalachia. Class time will be spent mostly outdoors, so come prepared for the weather that day. Please note that this course is located outside of the Athens area.

Medicine Bow Wilderness School, 104 Medicine Bow, Dahlonega, GA, 30533

Sweet Pea Club

Ages: 3-5 | $3 per class Register OnlineThe State Botanical Garden of Georgia education team offers Sweet Pea Club at the Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden every Thursday morning from 10:15-11 a.m. Families join one another for a program of engaging activities in the ......More

Ages: 3-5 | $3 per class Register OnlineThe State Botanical Garden of Georgia education team offers Sweet Pea Club at the Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden every Thursday morning from 10:15-11 a.m. Families join one another for a program of engaging activities in the garden, which can include songs, puppets, stories, hikes and games. Each week focuses on a different theme, such as busy bees, pollination, decomposers, all about animals, plants we eat and more. The Sweet Pea Club program is an informal way to give young naturalists a better understanding of the importance of our shared earth. This program is designed for children ages 3-5. Please note that this program typically takes place outdoors, and the location may change depending on the weather conditions. Registration is required for each participating child. 

Alice H. Richards Childrens Garden, 2450 S. Milledge Avenue, Athens, GA, 30605, United States

May Friends First Friday Hostas for Your Garden

$12 general admission | $10 for members Register OnlineFrom hosta newbie to veteran hosta growers, there’ll be something for everyone at this Friends First Friday when Pat Brussack presents on this plant that can add such a rich variety of ornamentation to a Southern ga......More

$12 general admission | $10 for members Register OnlineFrom hosta newbie to veteran hosta growers, there’ll be something for everyone at this Friends First Friday when Pat Brussack presents on this plant that can add such a rich variety of ornamentation to a Southern garden. You’ll learn about cultural practices to nurture this plant, as well as disease and pest control. Brussack will recommend varieties that perform well in Georgia and suggest sources for these plants. Following the program, registrants will be invited to view and do their own garden performance evaluation of over 300 named hostas in Brussack’s garden, less than five miles from the State Botanical Garden. Brussack’s connection with genus Hosta began in 1991 with the purchase of Hosta lancifolia, Hosta ‘Antioch’ and Hosta ‘Blue Cadet’ for her two-acre wooded lot. The progeny of those plants now make up a large portion of a hosta border in her garden. Her expanding collection of hostas, combined with the need for expertise and improved cultivars, led to her membership in the Georgia Hosta Society. In addition to hostas, Brussack’s garden features plantings of all types of hydrangea and extensive borders of mixed perennials and shrubs, including many native species, as well as a large raised-bed vegetable garden. The registration deadline is noon on May 1.

Porcelain and Decorative Arts Museum – Classroom, 2450 S. Milledge Ave., Athens, Georgia, 30605, United States

Native Ferns of North Georgia

Register OnlineConnie Gray, native plant specialist, Georgia Native Plant Society – Athens Chapter This course will focus on the most common and garden-worthy ferns typically found in the Piedmont and mountain regions of Georgia. We will begin with an introduction to th......More

Register OnlineConnie Gray, native plant specialist, Georgia Native Plant Society – Athens Chapter This course will focus on the most common and garden-worthy ferns typically found in the Piedmont and mountain regions of Georgia. We will begin with an introduction to the biology and morphology of ferns, especially those features that will help you identify the different species. We will also look at and compare the habitats where these ferns are found. We will examine each species through a presentation, some actual examples in pots, and an outdoor venture to see many of these plants in person in the Dunson Native Flora Garden. Following the field time, we will examine the samples under magnification when we return indoors. The primary focus of the course is to learn to recognize and appreciate these beautiful and fascinating native plants, and to encourage participants to incorporate them into their gardens. There will also be a discussion of invasive non-native ferns.

State Botanical Garden Visitor Center, Classroom 2, 2450 S Milledge Ave, Athens, 30605

Tuesday Tour

Join us at 2 p.m. every Tuesday for an in-depth, one-hour tour of the State Botanical Garden’s Porcelain and Decorative Arts Museum. These tours are led by the curator or docents. Tours are $5 per person, payable at the Garden Gift Shop upon arrival. 

Porcelain and Decorative Arts Museum – Classroom, 2450 S. Milledge Ave., Athens, Georgia, 30605, United States

Chamber Music Athens: "A Night of Jazz at the Botanical Garden"

Purchase TicketsExperience the magic of jazz amidst the natural beauty of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia! This evening, presented as the Christopher Durant Ballew Memorial Concert, features vocalist llona Knopfler alongside The James Weidman Trio.  The performanc......More

Purchase TicketsExperience the magic of jazz amidst the natural beauty of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia! This evening, presented as the Christopher Durant Ballew Memorial Concert, features vocalist llona Knopfler alongside The James Weidman Trio.  The performance will create a journey through beloved jazz standards and contemporary works that capture the jazz spirit. There will be a reception to follow in the Porcelain and Decorative Arts Museum. The Christopher Durant Ballew Memorial Concert is sponsored by the Friends of the Garden.

Visitor Center & Conservatory, 2450 S Milledge Ave, Athens, 30605

Meet Me at the Garden

Meet Me at the Garden is a free public event at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia that will focus on the joys of gardens and the love for the natural environment. This event is aimed at both persons living with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia alongside their care ......More

Meet Me at the Garden is a free public event at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia that will focus on the joys of gardens and the love for the natural environment. This event is aimed at both persons living with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia alongside their care partners. We encourage you to attend together, learn together, and explore the garden together. Pre-registration is required. Participants can sign up for one program or the series of three. Email [email protected] or call (706) 542-6156 to register.

Porcelain and Decorative Arts Museum – Classroom, 2450 S. Milledge Ave., Athens, Georgia, 30605, United States

Nature Ramblers

Free Leaders rotate among a group of local naturalists and biologists, featuring guest guides. Meet at children’s garden arbor. Join the Nature Ramblers to learn more about the natural areas, flora and fauna of the State Botanical Garden while making new friends and enj......More

Free Leaders rotate among a group of local naturalists and biologists, featuring guest guides. Meet at children’s garden arbor. Join the Nature Ramblers to learn more about the natural areas, flora and fauna of the State Botanical Garden while making new friends and enjoying the fresh air. Rambles start with an inspirational reading by a nature writer such as Annie Dillard, John Muir or Janisse Ray. Ramblers are encouraged to bring their own nature writings or favorite poems and essays to share with the group. This is a ramble, not a hike stopping to view interesting plants, insects, butterflies and mushrooms, etc., along the way is part of the experience each week. You can join for just one or all sessions. These informal rambles are free, but donations are accepted in the garden’s donation box in the lobby of the visitor’s center. To get a feel for what these rambles are like, visit http://naturerambling.blogspot.com.

Shade Garden Arbor, 2450 S. Milledge Avenue, Athens, GA, 30605, United States

Sweet Pea Club

Ages: 3-5 | $3 per class Register OnlineThe State Botanical Garden of Georgia education team offers Sweet Pea Club at the Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden every Thursday morning from 10:15-11 a.m. Families join one another for a program of engaging activities in the ......More

Ages: 3-5 | $3 per class Register OnlineThe State Botanical Garden of Georgia education team offers Sweet Pea Club at the Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden every Thursday morning from 10:15-11 a.m. Families join one another for a program of engaging activities in the garden, which can include songs, puppets, stories, hikes and games. Each week focuses on a different theme, such as busy bees, pollination, decomposers, all about animals, plants we eat and more. The Sweet Pea Club program is an informal way to give young naturalists a better understanding of the importance of our shared earth. This program is designed for children ages 3-5. Please note that this program typically takes place outdoors, and the location may change depending on the weather conditions. Registration is required for each participating child. 

Alice H. Richards Childrens Garden, 2450 S. Milledge Avenue, Athens, GA, 30605, United States

Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden Performance Series

Every third Saturday of the month, April through August, enjoy a variety of engaging shows taking place on the Theater-in-the-Woods stage in the Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden. Experience music, laughter and connection in nature as our artists bring excitement to y......More

Every third Saturday of the month, April through August, enjoy a variety of engaging shows taking place on the Theater-in-the-Woods stage in the Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden. Experience music, laughter and connection in nature as our artists bring excitement to your weekend. All performances will take place at 9:30 a.m. with a second showing at 11 a.m. Performance Schedule: April 18 – The Studio Athens – Shrek The Musical Jr. May 16 – Rebecca Sunshine Band June 20 – Sweet Georgia Brass July 18 – The Stage Oconee August 15 – Canopy Studio

Children’s Garden: Theater in the Woods, 2450 S Milledge Ave, Athens, 30605