Atlanta Botanical Garden facts for kids
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| Non-profit organization | |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia Gainesville, Georgia |
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Key people
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Mary Pat Matheson, CEO & President, Art Fix, COO Gary Doubrava, CFO Sabina Carr, VP Marketing Leslie Myers, VP Institutional Advancement Mildred Pinnell Fockele, VP Horticulture Tracy Barlow McClendon, VP Education Ronald Determann, VP Conservatories Dr. Jenny Cruse-Sanders, VP Conservation & Research |
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Number of employees
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150+- |
The Atlanta Botanical Garden is a fantastic place to explore plants! It's a large botanical garden in Atlanta, Georgia, covering about 30 acres. You can find it right next to Piedmont Park in Midtown. The garden started in 1976. Its main goal is to grow and show off many different plants. They also teach people about plants, help protect rare ones, and do important research. It's a fun and educational spot for everyone!
Contents
Discovering the Garden's History
The idea for the Atlanta Botanical Garden began in 1973 when people in Atlanta asked for one. By 1976, it officially became a private, non-profit organization. The garden even included an older area called the Dr. A. Leslie Stephens Memorial Bonsai Garden, which is now known as the Japanese Garden.
Soon after, Bill Warner became the first executive director in 1977. Ann L. Crammond followed him in 1979. A big step happened in 1980. The city agreed to let the garden use its land for 50 years. This meant the garden had a secure home for a long time!
The garden started to host many fun events. These included social gatherings, big art shows, and a yearly "Garden of Eden Ball." Just three years after getting the land lease, the garden welcomed its 50,000th visitor! This was even before any main buildings were built.
In 1985, the garden built its first permanent building, called the Gardenhouse. More exciting additions came later. The Children's Garden opened in 1999. The Fuqua Conservatory, a special indoor plant house, was built in 1989. The Fuqua Orchid Center, dedicated to beautiful orchids, was added in 2002.
Since 2003, the garden has hosted amazing summer exhibitions. These have featured giant treehouses, glass art by Dale Chihuly, and even model trains. In 2006, huge mosaic sculptures by Niki de Saint Phalle were on display. Other exhibits have included giant bug sculptures, moving art, and large bronze sculptures. In 2013, they showed "Imaginary Worlds," with huge plant sculptures. Chihuly's glass art returned in 2016.
During winter, the garden transforms with a holiday light show. "Garden Lights, Holiday Nights" began in 2011. It featured over 1 million LED lights! By 2012, it grew to more than 1.5 million lights. This popular event attracts many visitors each year.
Chihuly Glass Art Exhibition
In 2004, the Atlanta Botanical Garden hosted a special art show. It featured amazing glass art by an artist named Dale Chihuly. The show was called "Chihuly in the Garden." It was so popular that it ran for eight months! About 425,000 people came to see the exhibit. On some days, over 7,500 visitors came, which was double the garden's previous record! Chihuly's art returned to the garden in 2016 with new installations.
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The Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory
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Orchid house
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Plant tissue culture lab
Big Green Expansion Plan
The Green Expansion Plan was a huge project that finished in 2010. It made the garden twice as big and added many modern features. Some of the most exciting parts were a new visitor center and a long canopy walk.
This expansion focused on being eco-friendly. It used ideas for saving water and energy. They also recycled trees removed during construction. A large underground tank was installed in 2007. This tank can hold 100,000 gallons of rainwater. Just a small amount of rain can fill it! This water helps to irrigate about 40% of the new gardens.
The new visitor center has a special "green roof." Nearly half of the roof is covered with plants! This helps keep the building cool and quiet. It also creates more garden space and even a new home for wildlife. The visitor center leads visitors to the amazing canopy walk.
The garden's old parking lot is now a beautiful Edible Garden. It even has an outdoor kitchen! This new garden helps people learn about food and healthy eating. Another part of the plan was turning the old entry road into a large cascades garden. This area is filled with tropical plants and gentle waterfalls.
Exploring the Canopy Walk
The Atlanta Botanical Garden is home to the Kendeda Canopy Walk. This is a 600-foot-long skywalk! It lets visitors explore one of the city's last urban forests from high up in the air. You walk about 40 feet above the ground, right through the treetops of Storza Woods.
The skywalk stretches from a hill in the garden into the branches of oak, hickory, and poplar trees. From up high, you can also get a great view of the woodland garden below.
The Canopy Walk cost $55 million to build and opened in 2010. It was supposed to open in 2009, but there was a delay in its opening due to an incident during construction. City leaders believe the Canopy Walk is very special. They think it will become a famous symbol for Atlanta.
Amazing Garden Exhibits
The Botanical Garden has many smaller gardens, each with a different theme. These areas show off a wide variety of plants. Near the entrance, you'll find formal gardens. These include a beautiful Japanese garden and a lovely rose garden.
There are also two woodland areas. The Upper Woodland is about 5 acres, and Storza Woods is 10 acres. These areas have large trees and plants that love the shade. The Children's Garden is a fun place for kids. It has playful sculptures, fountains, and exhibits that teach about botany, ecology, and healthy eating.
The Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory is a huge indoor space, about 16,000 square feet. It has plants from tropical rainforests and deserts. The rainforest room is also home to tropical birds and turtles. You can even see several exhibits of poison dart frogs! This frog exhibit is part of a special effort with Zoo Atlanta to help protect these animals.
Next to the conservatory is the Fuqua Orchid Center. This center has separate rooms that feel like tropical and high-elevation places. This helps them grow rare orchids from all over the world.
The Fuqua Orchid Center has the largest collection of species orchids on display in the U.S. In winter, they host a beautiful show called Orchid Daze. Their unique Tropical High Elevation House creates the perfect home for mountain orchids. These orchids come from areas around the equator, at heights of 6,000 to 10,000 feet. They use a special "Air Washer System" to create this environment. This allows rare orchids to grow well. The Tropical Display House is filled with fragrant orchids from many different countries.
See also
In Spanish: Jardín botánico de Atlanta para niños
