Atlanta Botanical Garden

In 1973, the citizens of Atlanta petitioned for a botanical garden, and in 1976 it was incorporated by leasing 30 acres in Piedmont Park, just north of Downtown Atlanta.

The current lease runs to 2030, so let's hope things continue after that for this exceptional space.

Each year typically has a theme and it incorporates non-garden elements. At present in 2023, it's large wooden trolls (but some elements of previous ones have been kept like a Chihuly glass sculpture).

The Arrival - Arts Center

I took the Marta, which is the Atlanta Metro light rail system, to the Arts Center station with the intention of walking to the garden.

That was a mistake; it's a lot farther than it looks on a map and the access to the park are at points a good distance from the garden entrance. Take a car or rideshare.

Eventually I got to the entrance close enough to my scheduled ticket time to be allowed in (it was close though). Then I could get my camera ready and start to head in.

The Grounds

Various meandering paths (nothing is a straight line here) bring you to various areas of the garden. Some end up being cul-de-sacs with one way in and one way out. It's a pleasant walk though even if it does take some time.
One flower that is blooming in this time is tulips And they really made good use of that Daffodils were also in season, and I really like this particular color combination
And what did I find? Ugly green plants that are more winter resistant Not quite sure what this space is, since it was just coming up but it's on the way to the hothouse The large open green spot where many groups will congregate and kids will run wild
One of the many art pieces in the garden, this one is exceptionally wind sensitive Edibles, home type gardening plants, and quite a large array of them
On the south side of the lands is a very large hothouse for less cold-tolerant plants. Somehow this was the worst winter in a long time in Atlanta (Am I cursed?) so this was definitely the most colorful area in March.
The sciencey part of plants, here they can get almost any difficult one to start growing And in the hothouse, so many orchids, and the smell... omg Hanging ones too
And more And yes, there are a lot of these, this is a stylized display by an artist Ok ok, I swear this is the last one, but just LOOK at them. Beautiful
There is a nice rainforest/jungle area which felt very comforting to me during the strange cold snap there Here is a desert, which as one might imagine isn't super freeze resilient either
Then off to the more wooded and natural (Eg. not managed) areas of the garden in the north. The kids' area is a bridge across a road to one of those afore mentioned cul-de-sacs. There is a ton of stuff there, but I have just one picture for you as strangely people look at you weird when you take photos where there are kids around.
An area to let kids play and here they can make a house. Lots more in this area to wear out the little tykes
And the woods, which I really liked. Quite outstanding in scope and visual impact.
This year's current theme, the Trolls. At least these aren't leaving strange comments on my blog Some very interesting and large water features, that are viewed from afar as most don't have paths around them
A Chiluly masterpiece, the Yellow Icicle Tower. They decided to keep this one from a previous display This is the signature piece of the garden, the Earth Goddess

Summary

A very nice spot to escape the cement escarpments that make up the city of Atlanta in a storied and highly valued greenspace. And of course there's a gift shop with tons of horticultural items and some other things that have me scratching my head.
Alright, this shop is good, mostly garden and items promoting the site. Lots of relevant items

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