Atlanta Trip Report #2 - Atlanta History Center Gardens featuring American Ginger, American Smoke Tree, Indian Pink and More!

Just a humble place to call home...  Atlanta History Center's circa 1928 Swan House

For a gardener visiting Atlanta, it's hard to top the allure of the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

But there are other garden attractions in Dogwood City, including the gardens at the Atlanta History Center. These gardens include both the formal gardens around the 1928 Swan House, as well a variety of Georgia native plants nestled into a wild and wooded ravine. Here are some glimpses into these two very different types of gardens:

The formal side garden at the Swan House. Fountain? Check. Statuary and columns? Yep. Boxwoods and crape myrtles abound. It's not my style at all, but I can appreciate the symmetry and the clean lines.

This wild garden in a woodland ravine was more to my liking with some beautiful Oakleaf Hydrangeas

The woodland garden contained this lovely thick carpet of native Asarum canadense, American Ginger. I understand that this plant needs shade to survive in the South, not sure how much moisture it requires. Unlike cooking ginger (Zingiber officinalis), A. canadense is typically described as toxic or inedible, but Hank Shaw at Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook has done an interesting analysis suggesting it may not be as toxic as some people fear - particularly if used to make tea and drunk in moderation.

Cotinus obovatus, American Smoke Tree is high on my list of coveted trees that I hope to add to my garden. I've usually seen it described as a full-sun plant, but it seemed to be growing happily in this shady ravine at the Atlanta History Center

Light filters through the canopy of Cotinus obovatus, American Smoke Tree. The "obovatus" name comes from the egg-shaped leaves.

Here's a close-up on the Smoke Tree's smoky flowers. I suspect that trees grown in the shade will have fewer flowers than those in full-sun settings. 

A healthy, beautiful patch of Spigelia marilandica (a.k.a. Indian Pink or Pinkroot). I have three little newly-added Indian Pinks in my garden, so it's fun to see how large these plants can get!

Thelypteris hexagonoptera, Broad Beech Fern, apparently native throughout Eastern North America, reportedly makes a good deciduous groundcover in moist, shady settings. Clemson says it prefers constant moisture, but can withstand some drought.

Woodwardia areolata, Netted Chain Fern, native throughout Eastern North America (zones 5-9) in wet, swampy marshes, woodlands and flood plains. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center calls it well-mannered, but Missouri Botanical Garden says it can spread almost to the point of being weedy.

New Resource: Botanical Garden List

You never know who you'll see at a botanical garden!
Here a cute frog crashes the party at Powell Gardens' Festival of Butterflies.
Photo by Greg Boege

Dear Garden of Aaron readers,

Thanks for all your support and valuable feedback over the past year!

I would like to draw your attention to a new resource - a list of U.S. botanical gardens that I have added to the right sidebar. 

I'm sure this list is not comprehensive, but I hope that I've included most of the biggest and best botanic gardens in the country.

If I've missed any notable names, please contact me or use the comments section below to let me know.

(In the future, I hope to add a list of major U.S. arboretums. Since some botanic gardens - like the one in Dallas - seem to define themselves primarily or equally as arboretums, they'll end up on that other list.)

Hopefully these links to botanic gardens around the country will help you to discover gardens in your region or give you ideas of gardens you can visit when you travel.

What are your favorite U.S. botanical gardens? I've got to give some hometown love to Cheekwood, but I also was incredibly impressed with a visit a couple of years ago to Powell Gardens outside Kansas City, particularly the 12-acre Heartland Harvest Garden. Well-played, Powell!

Which garden would you most like to visit? I have to say that I'm hoping to visit some of the famous nearby gardens in upcoming years, including the botanical gardens in Memphis, Atlanta and St. Louis, plus the University of Tennessee Gardens in Knoxville!