Spring at Atlanta Botanical Garden

April 1, 2018

Note: I DID edit and reedit this post, but it is still long - get your coffee first.)

Starting in late January, I seem to have a rise in my nature/gardening hormones and start looking for signs of spring and thinking about all growing things. One of the best nearby places to go for a plant fix is the Atlantic Botanical Garden.  I had been there while most plants were still sleeping, except for the indoor orchids. I was anxious to return to check out the plants of spring.  And what better place to be on Easter Sunday?

The  garden, plus adjacent Piedmont park, is tucked into an otherwise pretty dense neighborhood.  It took extra time to get there through the Easter traffic.  Then I thought I would have to find a place to park off-site.  But after a fifteen minute wait, a special parking attendant pointed me in the direction of a few spaces.

Then I only had to walk about seventy-five yards, get in line, hand over my pass to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to receive a free pass to the park. (I can't tell you how wonderful this is.  For $30 a year, I have unlimited access to all these gardens. Currently the cost of a visit for ANY adult is $21.95) 

The orchid show was still going on and the big open area under the restrooms and meeting rooms was full of orchids for sale.  I walked through the tables to get to the outside door to the garden and started down the first path. Soon I was caught up in beautiful tulip displays as well as blooms of native plants. I followed the trails to the canopy walk, which give a bird's eye view of much of one end oft of the garden.  I enjoyed how the view of the big Chihully installation  above a stair step waterfalls had changed since winter.   That entire area had lots of spring blooming shrubs and trees, and pulled me in for a closer look.  Then I took the ground path back to the the more developed areas and the restaurant, stopping frequently to photograph blooms.

I would have been tempted to border this bed in white sweet alyssum

Red buckeye was starting to bloom

On the Canopy walk - still lots of trees that need awakening

View of one of the Chihully installations from the Canopy Walk

Looking back, from near the Chihully installation to the Canopy Trail

These stunning spiderworts brightened a shady area

These leaves added marvelous spring-time color in the wooded areas. 

I was able to look down on these blooms in a tree

Bignonia was blooming on a long pergola around the cascade garden

This flame azelea was almost supernaturally bright

This tree was described as dwarf fothegilla but I think it is Fothergilla magor  or large fothrgilla -
 a member of the witch hazel family

This was the only member of the saucer magnolias I remember seeing

This iris was naturalized as a ground cover in several places - if you know it please tell me in the Comments below

This spring bloomer was just getting started

Even the bugs found this one lovely

I loved this plant but don't know what it is - do you?

This apparently was the bloom of a tree. I thought the very low key blooms were sweet. 

I never realized that Oak Leaf Hydrangea was a native or could grow so large 

Think this is a snapdragon - it was the only one I saw in bloom

This eastern red columbine made me homesick for my Houston garden where I grew it

View along one of the public buildings - and event was going on inside - these are all tulips

All the above  was a repeat of my earlier walk when I only highlighted the orchids. But I kept going and, this time, walked across the great lawn to discover a few areas I had not seen on my first visit. The park has an interesting collection of carnivorous plants and a huge collection of cacti, in what loos like metal tanks. It also has a very formal pond.  You can climb the steps to the front of the orchid house and look down on the ponds,  and the cacti and over them to Piedmont Park.

I love this pond and the view over it to Piedmont Park. That little girl's mother was trying to get her to turn around and smile, I like this picture of her much better. The stairs lead to the front of the orchid hous

Some of the large collection of pitcher plants was starting to bloom. 

A  look down at some of the cacti collection 

And a view from the bottom looking back up to the Orchid House

A tree sized yucca was in full bloom

And you gotta have poppies to have spring

On a personal note, I'll be taking a three day visit to Cloudland Canyon State Park starting early Sunday, April 8.  I'm excited that the weather forecast has changed from an 80% chance of rain on Monday to only 20% a great birthday present.   Then I have to come back and start dragging out my possessions and getting them consolidated so I can get as much of them as possible in the Fit.   Leave day is currently set at April 19. I'll also be hunting down the pickerel weed that I need to finish the island garden planting before I leave.

Hope more of you are starting to enjoy spring and the incoming birds. I have eggs in two of my bluebird boxes. Hopefully the females will be sitting on them by survey time next week,