Although it’s only been around some 28 years, the Atlanta Botanical Gardens has had a major impact on research, conservation, and enjoyment of ornamentals in the largest city in the south. There are some 30 acres of grounds. They have been divided into the Main Garden, the Gardens Under Glass, the Children’s Garden, and Storza Woods.
The day we chose to go, they were displaying glass works by Dale Chihuly. The pieces were interspersed in between the living plants. The color and variety were truly superb and heightened by the beauty of the plants!
The Main Garden has perennials, roses, herbs, wildflowers, and seasonal floral displays. Additional gardens in this area include a vine-covered arbor that you walk through, Japanese gardens, frog ponds (with huge live frogs).
The Gardens under Glass include the Fuqua Orchid Center and the Fuqua Conservatory. Walking from one center with delicate orchids from all over the world into an arid desert environment is simply amazing.
There is an interactive Children’s Garden constructed on a two-acre site. It features a butterfly pavilion, tree house, caterpillar maze, and a dinosaur garden with a waterfall/pond/bog garden.
Storza Woods dates from the 19th century and features large specimens of oak, poplar and hickory. It’s amazing that this second-growth hardwood forest is only three miles or so from the center of Atlanta! It’s really peaceful and quiet when walking through on the paved walks.
The garden is completely handicapped accessible. Wheelchairs are available on a first-come-first-served basis. They do have a gift shop and café available on the grounds. There are no picnic facilities available. In fact, you are not allowed to bring in food from the outside.
Work at the gardens has been refined to allow a full year of enjoyment. The hours of operation are seasonal, April-September, the Botanical Gardens open 9am-7pm; October through March, they are open 9am through 5pm. Visitors need to be aware that every Monday, the gardens are closed, as well as on New Years Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas.
The gardens around Piedmont Park are another Atlanta landmark, so if you finish here and have some additional time, you might want to stroll over to Piedmont.
Parking can be at a premium in the area. The day we visited, we ended up parking at Colony Park Shopping Center. The Botanical Gardens had a free shuttle running between the Shopping Center and the Gardens. They gave you a ticket to use to get a discount rate for parking. It ended up costing us $2 to park, which is not really a bad deal.
There are several public parking areas in the vicinity. Just be aware that many of the roads in the area are one-way. It can be very confusing. In the downtown area, Atlantans tend to tailgate and do not use their blinkers much. The middle finger salute is not a gesture of "Hi! How y’all doing?" Pay attention when you are driving.