Sunflower Music Series

It’s almost summertime and that means the Sunflower Concert Series is just around the corner here at the State Botanical Garden. There is a great line up for you this year!


Shonna Tucker and Eye Candy will kick-off the series on Tuesday, June 4, with their debut performance at the Garden. Enjoy southern soul with pop overtones as the five piece band, including two original members of the Athens-based band Drive-By Truckers, gives you a night to remember.
www.shonnatucker.net

2006 Grammy nominee Caroline Aiken will return to the Garden stage to perform on Tuesday, July 9. The folk rock singer has toured with the Indigo Girls and Bonnie Raitt and released an impressive seven albums during her career.
www.carolineaiken.com

Get ready to dance! The annual favorites, Grogus, will be returning again this year on Tuesday, August 20, to perform a mixture of original and cover songs. From salsa to rumba this is sure to be a lively night.
www.myspace.com/grogus

World-renowned artist, Arvin Scott, will deliver a delightful show full of jazz with overtones of world music with his quartet on Tuesday, September 17. The jazz artist will play keyboard, drums, bass and guitar.

So bring a blanket and picnic basket with your favorite goodies or grab dinner at Dondero’s Kitchen at the Garden and settle in for a wonderful night of music!

Each concert is 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. on the stage of the State Botanical Garden’s terraced Flower Garden. Admission to each concert is $15 and includes light refreshments. Children’s tickets are also available. Tickets can be purchased at The Garden Shop, online, and at Wuxtry Records. Concerts will take place at the Visitor Center and Conservatory in case of inclement weather.

2013 Plantapalooza!

Plantapalooza!

Imagine a huge plant sale with the latest cultivars displayed beside heirloom and tried-and-true plants, just as spring is warming up and you are in the mood to garden. Now add a group of experts to help you with your plant selections – horticulturists, garden curators, UGA professors and Master Gardeners – and multiply that image by three. Welcome to Plantapalooza!, when three plant sales will happen at the University of Georgia in Athens on Saturday, April 6 from 8 am to 2 pm:

The State Botanical Garden of Georgia – 2450 S. Milledge Avenue

The Trial Gardens at UGA – 220 W. Green Street

UGA Horticulture Club – Intersection of College Station Road and Riverbend Road


Each sale offers a different experience and the opportunity to gather plants and information to help grow a beautiful garden. Trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, herbs, vegetables and more will fill the Visitor Center & Conservatory and its front and back plazas at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, with garden curators, horticulturists, and master gardeners in full force to help. UGA horticulture professors will share their knowledge at the UGA Horticulture Club sale. Allan Armitage will be offering tours and book signings at The Trial Gardens at UGA. All locations have free parking and the State Botanical Garden has a coffee/sandwich shop and garden-themed gift shop. More information is available at 706-542-6014 or plantapalooza.uga.edu.

Participants will receive a 5% discount stamp at each plant sale that can be used at the following local nurseries. All three stamps will add up to a 15% discount on full price plants during normal business hours that weekend:

Cofer’s Home and Garden Showplace     706.353.1519
1145 Mitchell Bridge Road, Athens

www.cofers.com

Goodness Grows     706.743.5055
332 Elberton Road, Lexington
www.goodnessgrows.com

Piccadilly Farms     706.769.6516
1971 Whippoorwill Road, Bishop
www.sites.google.com/site/piccadillyfarm

Specialty Ornamentals     706.310.0143

3650 Colham Ferry Road, Watkinsville
www.specialtyornamentals.com

Thomas Orchards and Nursery     706.769.5011

6091 Macon Highway, Bishop
www.thomasorchardsandnursery.com

Wildwood Specialty Nursery     706.613.3758

4970 Lexington Road, Athens

www.wildwoodspecialtynursery.com

Native Plant Nursery List

You want to use native plants in a gar­den­ing, farm­ing, or res­tor­ing pro­ject but you don’t know where to purchase plants, plugs, stakes, or seeds? Look no fur­ther than our list here! These spe­cialty nurseries and grow­ers and pro­duc­ing qual­ity native plants appro­pri­ate for Georgia and the SE US, and they are fol­low­ing eth­i­cal col­lec­tion and pro­duc­tion guide­lines.


None of the organi­za­tions listed here have pro­vided the State Botanical Garden of Georgia with any finan­cial or other ben­e­fits in order to be included. We offer this resource as a public ser­vice, serv­ing Georgia cit­izens as their State Botanical Garden. We try to keep this list updated. If you have infor­ma­tion to share, we would be inter­ested to hear from you.

Come say hi at this weekend's Home & Garden Show

We will be at the Home & Garden Show in the expanded Classic Center in downtown Athens this weekend: Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, and Sunday 12 noon to 5 pm. Tickets $5 per person and children under 3 are free. Please visit www.aahba.com for details and come say hi to us at booths #704 and 705.
If you are not quite sure when to come to the show – here’s the seminar schedule to help you plan.  

Saturday, February 23rd
11:00 - 12:00   Ted Stephens - Plants from Around the World
1:00 - 2:00       Dr. Allan Armitage - Tales from the Garden - Book Signing
2:15 - 3:15       Clint Garner - Irrigation for the Homeowner 101
3:30 - 4:30       Matthew Chappell - Top 10 Native Trees, Shrubs, & Perennials

Sunday, February 24th
1:00 - 1:45       Vince Dooley – Coach’s Perspective on Gardening – Book signing
2:00 - 2:45       Dr. Donglin Zhang - Innovative Plants
3:00 - 3:45       Dr. John Ruter - Conifers of the South

Seminars Sponsored by R.W. Allen

Exotic Birds and Reptiles on Planet Earth

Exotic birds and reptiles will come to the State Botanical Garden of Georgia’s Visitor Center on Saturday, March 2 from 10:00 – 11:30 am. For $5/person ($20/family, children under 2 are free) families can watch an informative and entertaining presentation by Roy Hodge of Exotic Paradise, Atlanta, and his cast of cockatoos, exotic parrots, spectacled owls, monitor lizards, anacondas, boa constrictors and more!

Discover amazing facts, adaptations, and conservation concerns of these animals, and then meet the animals and their handlers. After the 10:00 presentation, children are encouraged to participate in hands-on activities and crafts to learn more about forests of the world.

For more information visit botgarden.uga.edu or call 706-542-6156. The State Botanical Garden is located at 2450 South Milledge Avenue in Athens, one mile south of the Highway 10 Loop.

Like our summer camps? Join us for a spring break camp.

Spring Break Mini-Camp

MARCH 11 - 13, 2013 | 8:30 AM - 2:30 PM

VISITOR CENTER & CONSERVATORY CHILDREN'S CLASSROOM

2450 S. MILLEDGE AVE. ATHENS, GA 30605

COST: $88 MEMBER COST: $79.20

Send your kids on a naturalist adventure at the Garden during our spring break mini-camp. Each day will be filled with activities connecting our youth to the natural wonders that surround us. We will explore the gardens, trails and streams using each of our senses and dissecting the importance of these systems on our lives through observation and investigation. 

Register here.

Painting Workshops at the Garden this spring

Watercolor Painting Workshops

at The State Botanical Garden of Georgia

2450 South Milledge Avenue, Athens

botgarden.uga.edu – 706/542-1244

Watercolor Painting Inspired By Nature

Saturday, February 23 (10-4) and Sunday, February 24 (1-4)
Visitor Center, Gardenside Room , $160
Kie Johnson - www.kiejohnson.com

The natural world with its endless variety will be the focus of inspiration for this two-day workshop.  This workshop is designed for students with a variety of experience levels. Students should have basic knowledge and experience with this medium.  After developing initial drawings, students will explore using value studies as important building blocks to a successful painting. There will be demonstrations during each class, plus individual work time during classes with one-on-one instruction.

Roadside Flower + Exotic Blossoms + Watercolor = Magic

Monday, March 11, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Visitor Center, Gardenside Room, $75
Margaret Walsh Best - www.margaretwalshbest.com

Margaret will lead you through her process of making a special plant the star of a painting, while at the same time giving it a background which makes it look at home in its landscape. In this one-day workshop participants will have the opportunity to learn about the history, anatomy, medicinal or culinary uses of specific plants before painting them. There will be plenty of demonstrations on techniques, accompanied by individual work with each participant. All skill levels welcome.

Botanical Watercolor Illustration

Saturday, May 11, 9:30 am – 4:00 pm

Visitor Center, Gardenside Room, $75
Dorset Trapnell, Plant Biology Department, UGA

Learn the gentle art of botanical watercolor illustration.  Using a flower of your choice selected from the Garden, learn how to compose, sketch, and paint a botanical watercolor illustration.  The class will focus on techniques and materials for execution of a lasting rendition.  The workshop is appropriate for beginners as well as experienced artists. 

 
More information on each workshop is available at botgarden.uga.edu