Issue #2 2017 THE NEWSLETTER FOR THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN VOLUNTEERS

Congratulations to these

Volunteers Of the Month

January Marj Leinbaugh

February Mary DeHaye

March Anita Hinkel

April Rick Fritz

Read more about them on page 6.

Congratulations to Jack Nolen

2016 Volunteer of the Year

ATLANTA

BOTANICAL

GARDEN

Volunteer Opportunities Abound This Summer!

By Josh Todd

Memorial Day is over so that means the Botanical Garden is in high gear for the next few months! With the opening of

The Curious Garden summer exhibit and the new Skyline Garden, volunteers have even more information and

guidance to share with Garden visitors. Talking Points for both of these new additions have been sent to volunteers and are availa-

ble for review in the Volunteer Office. Concerts in the Garden will begin in June and will provide fantastic entertainment and lots of ways to add volunteer hours! Cocktails in the Garden has re-sumed on Thursday evenings so slots are available for greeters

and hosts. Thanks to all who sign up via email or in person for all the activities that will keep the Garden such a busy place this

summer! We need you now more than ever!

This issue includes a recap of the recognitions from February’s Volunteer Luncheons, including a tip of the hat to Volunteer of the Year Jack Nolen, who is so much more than just “the man with the broom.” That event was a small way to say thank you to all the hundreds of volunteers who mean so much to this Garden

and its success. At the end of that Luncheon, I had some heartfelt things to say about why you are all so important. “As an organiza-tion, we provide hundreds of thousands of joyful memories each year for guests. Do you know how many wedding proposals, first steps, play dates, and life-long friends are made at the Garden? We showcase the natural world and demonstrate how to respect and care for it. We teach children and adults how to create beau-tiful spaces for quiet reflection or hosting guests. Here at the Gar-den we are all trying to make the world a better place for our chil-

dren and their children, our parents, our spouses and families. Don't forget that your time here is meaningful in ways that you

may never know. You don't always know what lives you are touching, what part of nature you may contribute to saving. There are lots of places where you could volunteer that make the world

a better place, and we thank you for choosing ours!”

Thanks for making our world a better place. It is going to be a wonderful summer!

Centennial Club

The Centennial Volunteer category was created to salute volunteers donating at least 100 hours of service during the volunteer year. The first class in 1990 started with 15 people and two years ago, a then-record 169 volunteers achieved Centennial Club. For 2016, the number of vol-

unteers giving at least 100 hours of service hit a new high as 191 made Centennial Club.

This year, we welcomed 42 new Centennial Club mem-

bers. In recognition of your time and commitment, each new member receives a Centennial Club name badge, a

Sheffield Botanical Garden library card, a 50% discount

on an educational class, and Garden-sponsored parking.

New Centennial Club

Members

Bev Adkins Danny Lentz Beth Baer Mikiko Lockwood Pat Baillie Bob Lossie Brad Belden Jenny McBride Jean-Luc Betoulle Bob Nelson Idalis Boyd Jane Olausen Anne Boyte Sandy Paik Janet Cantrelle Alejandro Perez Claire Chinery Bob Powell Jataysia Daniels Tom Reins Beatie Divine Irina Rieppi Cristha Edwards Lynn Sinclair Diana Farmer Brian Schuster Mary Freund Cheryl Schuster Eve Goldstein Nancy Stoutamire Steve Guiness Sa Su Chris Hamory Chelsea Thomas Toni Harrington Barbara Washburn Carol Hooper Laura Wellington Lin Inlow Kathy Wilde Martha LaTour Yi Yin

Volunteers of the

Month

Volunteers of the Month are nominated by

their staff supervisors for showing exceptional

devotion and enthusiasm in their work. They are recog-nized in Digging In and also have a book placed in the

Garden’s Library in their name.

2015 Roy Pinkston

Yvonne Arrington

Geni Smith Chris Michael

Agnes Miller-Landers Joan Brown

Mark Scofield

Charlotte Miller Kathy and Casey Gentry

Nancy Dominick Matthew Malok

Bill Whittaker

2016 Nancy Knight Elizabeth Creagh

Sue Osier James Bowen

Patty Nathan

Beverly Blakely Jack Nolen

Wanda Bokoski Jan Wendler

Beth Baer

Mikiko Lockwood Sally Hilton

Thanks for Giving

Luncheon 2017

The February Thanks for Giving Luncheon saluted the Garden’s legion of dedicated volunteers who work tirelessly out of a love for this Garden and its mission to put the Garden’s best foot forward.

Special recognitions were given to Centennial volunteers, the 200-Hour Club, Volunteers of the Month, the Roots of the Garden and

the 2016 Volunteer of the Year, Jack Nolen. Special thanks to Jackand to the hundreds of special people who volunteer their time at the

Atlanta Botanical Garden, in both locations!

At left: 2016 Volunteer of the Year Jack Nolen with Volunteer Manager Josh Todd

Perennial Centennials

Perennial Centennials recorded over 100 hours during the past volunteer year and in at least one previous year. In honor of this achievement, they all received a new library card and class coupon,

as well as another year of Garden-sponsored parking. This year we proudly recognize 149 as Perennial Centennials.

Kathryn Adams Sharon Marler Barbara Schwendler Yvonne Arrington Abbott Mason Mark Scofield Ernest Arvesen Roberta Matthews Denise Siegel James Bemberg Linda McCormick Susan Slemenda Ann Bentsen Maggie McGarity Deloris Smith Mel Berss Bill McMahan Geni Smith Jo Ann Bertrand Andrea McMullin Marge Smith Beverly Blakely Angie Meadows Alice Soder Lua Blankenship Burrelle S. Meeks Raenell Soller Stan Bokoski Lauren Melde Holly Sparrow Wanda Bokoski Chris Michael Gail Starling Denise Bomberger Charlotte Miller Kaye Steiding Ann Bonislawski Linda Miller Patricia Swartz-Smith James Bowen Agnes Miller-Landers Heather Tangren Pat Bras Carol Morgan Wendy Tarson Kathy Bronaugh David Morgan Judie Taylor Joan Brown Jeanne Muhlberger Behnoosh Tehrani Cheryl Bruce Neil Murray Pat Teplitz Tom Carr Patty Nathan Gale Thomas Joan Carson Jack Nolen Marion Todd Bettie Cheek Rita Omark John Trotter Christine Cotter Sue Osier Margaret Turk Dal Covington John Pardue Faith Tyldsley Elizabeth Creagh Sandy Perkowitz Tim Vissman Sally Crowe Carol Phillips Anita Wallace Johnette Crum Lisbet Phillips Nancy Waterfill Penny Crump Roy Pinkston Clark Weisner Pamela Cumbie Lynda Pollock Jan Wendler Jessica Dark Bonnie Poulin Paula White Kay Darrington Octavia Prevatt Bill Whittaker Mary DeHaye Alice Pugh Salli Wolfe Donna DeLoach Susan Radle Susan Wood Debbie Demoss Rebecca Rahm Sally Wright Janet DeOrio Vicki Remaley Tess Yaney Richard Dodder Dave Rusk Chuck Young Nancy Dominick Polly Sanders Loretta Zusel Clyde Draughon

Susan Eckert Jack Evans Mary Evatt Tatyana Fershtat Chris File Mary Flynt Cyndy Franklin Rick Fritz Jennifer Fuller Kathy Gallo Vince Gallo Pat Gianelloni Marianne Gilmore Martha Graettinger Mary Ann Hart Deedi Henson Sally Hilton Anita Hinkel Bob Holmes Sherry Hopper Louise Horney Sandy Kaiser Gene Kalin Robin Keeler Bobbie Kilgo Steve Kilgo Leslie Kimbell Nancy Knight Diane Korzeniewski Harry Larsen Kathy Lasanta Kathryn LaTour Marj Leinbaugh Memri Lerch Katie Lindquist Jim Mallory Lynn Malone Fari Sarrafan Marlene Zwier

Vera Dunalewicz

The 200 Hour Club

Forty-three volunteers donated over 200 hours during the past year. Each volunteer at this level receives, in addition to the Centennial Club awards, a lapel pin in recognition of this achievement. The pins vary

depending on how many years they have achieved this level of service, 1st year through 6th year.

1st Year Recipients Jean-Luc Betoulle Harry Larsen Wendy Tarson Jataysia Daniels Marj Leinbaugh Margaret Turk Clyde Draughon Rebecca Rahm Yi Yin Sally Hilton Alice Soder

2nd Year Recipients Kathy Gallo Jim Mallory Jan Wendler Diane Korzeniewski Lynn Malone Marlene Zwier

John Pardue

3rd Year Recipients Chris Michael Agnes Miller-Landers Marion Todd Charlotte Miller Patty Nathan Susan Wood

Marge Smith

4th Year Recipients Ann Bentsen Robin Keeler Mark Scofield Bob Holmes Roy Pinkston

5th Year Recipients Sally Crowe Carol Phillips Geni Smith Richard Dodder Deloris Smith Paula White

6th Year Recipients Elizabeth Creagh Jack Evans Kathryn LaTour Johnette Crum Pat Gianelloni Susan Slemenda

Gene Kalin

Spring break activities and Kinder in the Garden give volunteers opportunities to log hours.

The Roots of the Garden:

The Top Hours Award

By Josh Todd

Yi Yin With 340 hours, Yi Yin began volunteering in September 2015 as a Georgia Tech student working on her masters in Biology. Our conservation department was looking for help on a project to showcase the im-portance of UVB light and vitamins for captive breeding collections, and this person was the perfect fit. Her Garden staff supervisor states that her dedication, patience and dependability to care for the sometimes unruly frogs have made her a joy to work with. The amphibian program has benefited significantly from having this first time Centennial volunteer and frog whisperer.

Bob Holmes With 341 hours, Bob Holmes started at the Garden in 2011 and this is his second Roots Award. He’s made Centennial Club in 2012, ‘13, ‘14, ‘15 and ‘16, the 200 hour club for 2013, ‘14, ‘15 and ‘16, Volunteer of the Month for March 2013, and the Volunteer of the Year for 2014. He volunteers in conservation, plant records, the conservatory, the lab, as a Discovery volunteer and as a Docent tour guide. From pulling invasives in the field, working on tissue cultures in the lab, leading children on tours and plotting plant locations for our map-ping system, the staff truly values his time and commitment to the Garden.

Gene Kalin With 345 hours, Gene Kalin started volunteering in 2010 in both the lab and in the outdoor gardens. He’s made Centennial Club each of his six years here and was also named a Root of the Garden in 2011, ‘12, ‘13, ‘14 and ‘15. He has donated over 2200 hours to the Garden over the past six years. Staff members describe him as dependable, sharp, witty, and multi-talented. He is the Garden’s Volunteer of the Month for November 2011, and this is his sixth consecutive Roots award.

Paula White With 428 hours, Paula White started in 2009, and she has spent her time in three places. First, as a Garden Essential Maintenance volunteer in the Woodlands, second as a Docent tour guide, where she served as the Docent chair for 2013, and third as a Garden Associate. She has been both the Gardens for Connoisseurs Tour Volunteer Chair and Tour Co-Chair. She was a Centennial volunteer in 2011, ‘12, ‘13, ‘14, ‘15, and ‘16, a member of the 200 hour group for 2012, ‘13, ‘14, ‘15, and ‘16, the Garden’s Volunteer of the Month for De-cember 2013 and serves as the Garden Associates Chair for 2017.

Patty Nathan With 463 hours, Patty Nathan started volunteering in October of 2013 after 40 years in education. She vol-unteers all across the Garden, so much so that a staff member jokingly told me that every time he turns a corner he sees her volunteering in a different area. You’ll find her working on plant records in the morning, with the membership and development staff in the afternoon, and then staying in the evening to greet in the Visitor Center or lead a tour for an event. She is the May 2016 Volunteer of the Month and has recorded over 200 hours in 2014, ‘15, and ‘16. Her mantra: if my schedule fits the needs of the Garden, I’ll sign up.

Charlotte Miller With 515 hours, Charlotte Miller began her service in 2013 at the spring Discovery training. You’ll often find her in the Conservatory talking about plants and amphibians, or helping with kids’ classes, or volunteering for Garden Lights. In June 2013 she began volunteering as a GEM in the Edible Garden and followed that up in 2014 with Docent Training for both children and adult group tours. She is the August 2015 Volunteer of the Month and signs up for just about every event and festival. I sometimes think she’s at the Garden more than the staff, so it’s no surprise to award Charlotte with the top hours for 2016 and second Roots Award.

Meet the Volunteers of the Month

January: Marj Leinbaugh

After retiring from 30+ years in retail management, Marj

Leinbaugh started volunteering at the Garden as a GEM alongside Kathryn Moomaw, working in several garden

areas before moving to the Children’s Garden. During its

renovation, she lateralled to Storza Woods and fell in love with that corner of the Garden too. Now she’s at the Gar-

den two mornings a week because she couldn’t choose between them! For Marj, the Garden “is a magical place

that is just electric! I can feel my batteries getting re-

charged when I drive into the parking space!” Thanks, Marj, for your energy and cheerful service to the Garden!

March: Anita Hinkel

A Garden volunteer since 2007, Anita first helped with

Discovery Stations and special events but found her niche

in 2009 when she started assisting Plant Recorder Michael Wenzel with coding the distribution of all species

in the Garden into a database. About that time Anita was striking out on a second career, pursuing a diploma in

Horticulture and certificates in Landscape Design and Flo-ral Design. The perennial Centennial volunteer is happy in

her new career choice but still makes time for her Garden

role. Thanks, Anita, for your invaluable volunteer service!

February: Mary DeHaye

An Orchid Specialist since 2003, Mary DeHaye finds joy,

peace and strength in the environs of the Orchid Center and makes it her mission to make sure visitors feel the

same way. “When you walk into that green world, your

cares just fade away,” she promises. Retired from a long career with IBM, including a stint working with the Apollo

Mission in Houston, Mary has been in the Centennial ranks since 2007 and enjoys sparking visitors’ interest in

orchids by first introducing them to the Vanilla Orchid.

The Garden salutes Mary for sharing her love of orchids with so many visitors through the years!

April: Rick Fritz

A longtime member of the Garden, Rick became a docent

in 2012 after bringing his granddaughters to Scarecrows

in the Garden and seeing the joy on their faces. Rick says he’s sure the girls, now 9, will love the Skyline Garden

and the Curious Garden when they visit this summer. A Centennial Club docent for both children’s and adult tours

since then, he also serves as this year’s Docent Chair and

lends a hand at special events and Discovery Stations as well. Volunteer of the Month three years ago, the Garden

salutes Rick again for his affable service!

What’s Growing in

Gainesville

By Wanda Cannon, Gainesville Education and Volunteer Coordinator

The Atlanta Botanical Garden, Gainesville is in full bloom right now! The spring was spectacular, and the Garden is now off to an exciting summer season with many opportunities for volunteers to be involved. The Gainesville Garden volunteers and staff had a wonderful time at our annual “Thanks for Giving” volun-teer luncheon in February. Raffle prizes were given away, and a delicious lunch was prepared by one of our local restaurants, Scotts on the Square. This is always a special time to say Thank You to all of our great volun-teers we have here at our Garden. Gainesville volun-teers recorded 4,813 hours for 2016, with 18 Centennial volunteers being recognized for 100+ hours. Way to go, Gainesville Garden volunteers! “Ribbit the Exhibit” featuring artist Andy Cobb’s traveling frogs opened April 15 at the Gainesville Gar-den. This fun and interactive exhibit displays over 19 installations of copper frogs, each with its own name and story. Discovery Stations, games, crafts and a fun scavenger hunt are planned around “Ribbit” which runs through July 15. The young and young at heart will enjoy the whimsical display of characters. Come see “Cora” the gardener or “Charles” the birdwatcher as they tell their fun and interesting stories! Our self-guided “Back Pack “program is in full gear with many school field trips being planned. It is exciting to watch the children learn about the Garden and nature through the activities they engage in with programs such as “Sensational Senses” and “Garden Explorer”. Also our calendar is filling up with docent-led group outings. The docents are getting a chance to use their leadership skills. It’s exciting to see our new Garden grow with groups of all ages coming to visit. Our spring children’s festival, “Dia del Nino,” was held on Sunday, April 30 and our new spring “Woodland Ramble” was Saturday, May 6 featuring local vendors in an artisan setting.

Monthly Wine in the Woodlands and children’s per-formances are planned through October and three major concerts are planned for the summer on June 10, July 15 and September 30. There will be many times to share your talents with us here at the Garden. We have opportunities that will fit almost everyone’s interest and abilities. The Garden does rely on your support, and we need and appreciate all of you! Volunteers make my job easier and reward-ing, and I hope to see you often through the season!

Volunteers are gearing up for summer here in Gainesville. We had a bit of a scramble moving plants prior to the “Big Chill” back in March and some things suffered, but...it is what it is. Sometimes you just can’t fight Mother Nature. Greenhouse focus has been on getting annuals ready for planting after frost and planting the frogs. They are looking great. The Garden is looking super. We spent much of the spring cleaning up telltale leaves and mulching. Our mulch pile often took up several car spaces, but it slowly got smaller. Bulbs recovered after the cold weather and looked sad for a few days but put on a spectacular show after all. In the early spring we had a great presentation by Scott McMahan on the plant collection program. He had gorgeous slides, and it was very interesting to hear about the collaboration of cultures making the program so successful. Many of the seeds are plant-ed in the greenhouse, and we have some very rare plants. It was so interesting to see where our “babies” came from and how they got here. Come see us in Gainesville this summer and meet our froggy friends!

News from the Volunteers at

Atlanta

Botanical

Garden,

Gainesville By Diane Korzeniewski

Docent

Doings

By Rick Fritz

2017 Docent Chair

In this year’s first-quarter edition of Digging In, I reported that my early inter-est in plants was partly the result of grow-ing up in South Florida and the influence the botanist David Fairchild had on my life. One of the most interesting as-pects of Fairchild’s career was his role with the U.S. Department of Agricul-ture. He was sent to Java, Europe, Australia, Central America, and the South Pacific to discover and catalog plant life and is credited with introducing avo-cados, horseradish, mangoes, papaya, pistachios, and Chinese soybeans into the U.S. That sounds like a noble calling, but I learned later in life that intro-ducing new plants into a foreign environment sometimes have unintended consequences. Here are a couple of my favorite examples. As a youngster growing up in Miami, Florida, my father planted a few melaleuca trees on our property. Melaleuca trees have paper-like white spon-gy bark that can be peeled away like a roll of paper towels. They are native to Australia, attractive to birds and bees, with white flowers that are small and crowded in bottlebrush-like spikes at branch tips. We had neighbors who raised bees and harvested their honey. They politely asked my father if he would cut down our melaleuca trees because the nectar from those pretty white blossoms was a disastrous contribution to their honey crop. Our neigh-bor’s honey crop was only the tip of the melaleuca iceberg. In Florida, melaleuca found widespread use as an ornamental tree and as a soil stabilizer on levees and spoil islands. It was even used as an early attempt to dry up the Everglades. However, melaleuca is an alien, especially in the Everglades. It grows into immense forests, virtually eliminating native plants. The Everglades “river of grass” in some locations has become a “river of trees.” During the 50-plus years since its introduction into the state, mela-leuca has taken over hundreds of thousands of acres of the Everglades, threatening the survival of this internationally known eco-treasure. It is now listed by federal and state agencies as a noxious weed, making it illegal to possess, sell, or transport melaleuca in Florida. Melaleuca was the invasive plant of my childhood. I wasn’t introduced to kudzu until I moved to Atlanta in the 1980s. Here is what I learned about kud-zu. Native to Japan, it was introduced to the Southeast in 1883 at the New Orleans Exposition. The vine was widely marketed as an ornamental plant to be used to shade porches. Kudzu was distributed as a high-protein content cattle fodder and as a cover plant to prevent erosion. During the Great De-pression, it was cultivated by the Civilian Conservation Corps as a solution for the erosion during the Dust Bowl. The Soil Erosion Service promoted kudzu, distributing 85 million seedlings and paying $19.75 per hectare for farmers to plant kudzu. This resulted in 3 million acres of kudzu by 1945. The climate and environment in the Southeast allowed the kudzu to grow virtually unchecked. By 1953, kudzu was removed from a list of suggested cover plants and it was listed as a weed in 1970. In 1997, the vine was placed on the “Federal Noxious Weed List.” Today, kudzu is estimated to cover 7.4 million acres of land in the Southeast. But that’s not all. It has been found growing in Nova Scotia, Canada, and five boroughs of New York City. The moral to this story is, “Be careful what you bring home from Root Root” at

our next docent meeting.

Concerts in the Garden

Schedule

Atlanta Great Lawn

Sunday, June 18, 7 pm Gladys Knight

Friday, July 7, 8 pm Michael Feinstein

Friday, July 21, 8 pm Barenaked Ladies

Sunday, July 23, 7 pm Brandi Carlile

Friday, August 11, 8 pm American Acoustics:

Punch Brothers & I’m With Her

Sunday, August 20, 7 pm Lifehouse and Switchfoot

Friday, August 25, 8 pm Buddy Guy

Friday, September 8, 8 pm Garrison Keillor

Gainesville Amphitheater

Saturday, June 10 Vince Gill

Saturday, July 15 Jennifer Nettles

Saturday, September 30 Taj Mahal &

The Keb Mo Band

All shows at 8 pm

Volunteer positions include front line greeters, ticket scanners and lawn

ushers. Contact Josh Todd or sign up in his office for Atlanta shows, and

email Wanda Cannon to volunteer in Gainesville.

Meet the Staff:

Heather Rice Family Programs Coordinator

By Josh Todd Many volunteers know Heather Rice from her time in Summer Camp and the Outdoor Kitchen. Heather first started at the Garden part-time in 2014 as a Camp Teacher for Kathryn Masuda and was then hired by Abby Gale as a Programs Assistant for two years. In March this year, she was promoted to a full-time position in the Programs De-partment as the Family Programs Coordinator.

A Massachusetts native, she has been in Atlanta three and a half years by way of Colorado College, getting her bache-lor’s in Cultural Anthropology and Environmental Issues, then back to Massachusetts at Clark University, earning a Master’s in International Development and Social Change. She moved to Atlanta to be closer to family and live in a vibrant urban environment and lives next door to the Gar-den in the Virginia Highlands.

“My role as the Family Programs Coordinator is to create, run and evaluate family programs for children, especially for early childhood ages ranging from 6 months to 5 years,” Heather explains. “You’ll often find me in the Children’s Garden for Tuesday Garden Playtime, Thurs-day Garden Grooves and Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for the Children’s Garden Weekend Activities.”

In a typical day Heather will set up activities and greet volunteers to run the stations in the Children’s Garden. She’ll also meet Amphitheater Performers and help with drop-in classes like the immensely popular Natural Egg Dyeing and Chocolate Creatures classes. She also lends a hand at planning and working festivals like Earth Day and the Endangered Species Day. While in the office, she develops fun and interactive nature-related activities for future programming and evaluates the current offerings.

Heather’s prior experience includes working as the programming director at an environmental education pro-gram on Catalina Island in California. “I’ve been in environmental education for years. I was actually looking to volunteer at the Garden when I first moved to Atlanta; it seemed like a great fit, but I saw the Camp Teach-er posting and it worked for my schedule. I’m excited that starting in that role has developed into a full time position for me at the Garden.”

“I am so thankful for the Garden’s volunteers. We could not run all of these programs without their help! Over the past year since the Children’s Garden has re-opened, we’ve had a concerted effort to program the newly developed space with activities every day of the week, leading to new activities like Garden Playtime and Garden Grooves, continuing much-loved programming like Wednesday Storybook Time, and now adding an additional day of Amphitheater Performances on Fridays. We strive to serve families, and the volunteers are integral to run the programs, make connections with visitors, and engage children to help them learn and grow.”

We also have a new festival, Refugee Recipe, coming up on June 24 and 25. Timing with World Refugee Day (June 20) to raise awareness for the situations of refugees around the world, this event will celebrate unique food from Sudan, Burma, Nepal, and Syria. Volunteers are needed to help run crafts and activities. Keep an eye out for a busy fall, too, including Chocolate Covered Weekend in September and Fall Family Fun and Goblins in the Garden during Scarecrows.

Heather has a core group of volunteers in the Children’s Garden, but we are always looking for more! If you’d like to learn more about volunteering for these roles through the summer months, please contact Josh Todd.

The Skyline Garden opened in early May to great acclaim. I am very proud of this new garden because it is one of our largest new gardens and provides a perfect place to showcase some of our important plant collections. It’s also just been rewarding, fun, and energizing to focus on a garden that’s about beauty, biodiversity, and our city. It may be obvious to you all, but the location of the Skyline Garden was very important to this campaign. I really wanted to create two “bookend” gardens that helped to complete our garden campus; the Storza Gardens on the northwest corner and Skyline Garden on the southeast side, each with a dis-tinct design. The Storza Gardens are old world and romantic with woodland displays to complement the cathedral of trees. The Skyline Garden was de-signed as a complement to the skyline view of Atlanta’s tallest buildings which are mostly contemporary with clean lines and simple facades. The simple elegance of the Skyline Garden reflects a contemporary design us-ing modern materials such as corten steel and smooth concrete walls. The new Robinson Gazebo is an elegant complement to the Conservatory and is beautiful and sophisticated in its shape and materials. It’s also the people hub for the new garden, already christened with the Atlanta Opera’s perfor-mance of Mozart’s Secret Garden. The site is also where remnants of the 1895 Cotton States Exposition can be seen with the urns and pedestals terraced down the slopes. Skilled ma-sons restored the urns to their former glory and enabled us to honor the city’s past in the beautiful new garden. I love the juxtaposition of the old urns and pedestals with the bronzed corten steel walls and the animated shapes of the cactus and succulents. Of course, the real stars of the Skyline Garden are the plants and horticul-tural displays. Standing on the walkway by the bog garden provides a per-fect place to see and reflect on the amazing diversity of plants. You can see the white and green pitchers of our Sarracenia displays while gazing down on the round orbs and tall spikes of the succulent garden. The pitch-er plants adapted to a wet boggy habitat and evolved to digest the pro-teins of insects in the nutrient depleted bog. The cactus and succulents are the opposite as they adapted to arid conditions of North American de-serts with their thick skins, spines and succulence.

Two other components of the new gar-den are the Ann Cox Chambers Flower Walk and the new floating fiddlehead in the aquatic plant pond. These two are about pure beauty, a celebration of the brilliance of flowers and foliage, creative design and the joy of the gar-den. They delight and surprise our guests and keep them wondering what we have up our sleeves next. I love that, because a botanical garden is such a special place where we can test the bounds of design, celebrate plant diversity and provide a place where whimsy and beauty can be found together. I hope you, too, enjoy the new Skyline Garden – I can already see it maturing and blossoming, fulfilling our dream of creating a new garden that will continue to attract visitors and to inspire them with plants.

Notes From Mary Pat

Insights from Mary Pat Matheson The Ann and Hays Mershon President & CEO

“Digging In” is published for the volunteers of the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

Editor: Susan Wood Writers: Wanda Cannon, Rick Fritz, Diane Korzeniewski, Mary Pat Matheson, Josh Todd, Susan Wood

Remembering

Jim Corley

April 22, 1922- March 26, 2017

Dedicated Garden Friend,

Volunteer of the Year 1999

Lifetime Achievement Award 2007

He is missed by all who knew him.

The Curious Garden

Summer at the Atlanta Botanical Garden