Welcome to Smith-Gilbert Gardens!
Please note: We will continue to monitor visitation and may change our operational guidelines to continue to support safety and social distancing.
Pre-purchased timed tickets are required. Our Gift Shop & Art Gallery is open inside the Hiram Butler House. Please enter the House at the side courtyard entrance-temperature checks are required.
We cannot accommodate group tours, daycare facilities or summer camp tours.
Note, masks are required for indoor spaces but not while touring the Gardens outside.
About Us
Smith-Gilbert Gardens is the City of Kennesaw’s botanical garden. Voted one of the top five places to take children in the Atlanta metro area, the 17-acre property is rich with botanical, artistic and historic treasures.
With fifteen themed garden spaces, the reconstruction of the Hiram Butler House, and more than 4,000 curated plant species, Smith-Gilbert Gardens offers a beautiful and fascinating experience. We invite you to visit our award-winning “Garden with Wings” butterfly house, crevice garden, bonsai collection, children’s play structures, Koi ponds, more than 30 sculptures and so much more.
Smith-Gilbert Gardens’ conservation mission is evident throughout the gardens. A minimal-toxicity ethic means that we curtail the use of chemical treatments in garden maintenance. Through best practices in collection management and collaborations with Georgia Power, State Botanical Garden of Georgia and Atlanta Botanical Garden, we work to preserve global plant biodiversity and improve local habitat. Our educational programs share knowledge of and passion for nature, while inspiring participants to be conservation minded.
We hope that you will enjoy your visit to Smith-Gilbert Gardens!
NEWS
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At Smith-Gilbert Gardens there is always something in bloom, no matter the season. One of the first plants to bloom in late winter, early spring are the Hellebores.
Helleborus ×hybridus is a group of evergreen, late-winter or early-spring flowering perennials in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) with the common names of hellebore, oriental hellebores, or Lenten rose.
Mature plants can form clumps that are 18” to 24” tall and 24” to 30” wide. The glossy, deep green, palmate foliage adds a wonderful texture against ferns or acorus. The toothed, leathery foliage remains attractive throughout the growing season.
Around December, we cut back that foliage to make room for the beautiful blooms that are just starting to raise their heads. They come in a rainbow of colors, if your rainbow is in the burgundy, pink, and white range, and most have freckles! Mature plants can have up to 50 or more flowers per plant and they are a welcome source of food for pollinators this time of year. Hellebore make excellent cut flowers and their seed heads and dried flowers add interest in dried arrangements.
Drought tolerant, they are perfect for those shadier areas of your garden but they will take full sun as well. Established clumps can be left alone for 20 or more years making this the perfect perennial for those intermittent gardeners. Stop by SGG today and stroll our woodland gardens to see more of these late winter beauties.
4 weeks ago
I have these in my flower bed, and they have just started to bloom. They are one of my favorites.
some of my winter blooming favorites !!! Just got 5 in the ground yesterday and have 5 more to plant ... so very excited !!! 🙂
Yes
Kim Pope Manring Do you have these?
Have you been seeing a random ladybug or two indoors lately? It’s very common for them to seek warm places in the winter like tree trunks, cracks in rocks, and even buildings. Asian lady beetle is the common non-native ladybug species in north Georgia. Believe it or not, they were deliberately introduced into the state of Georgia many decades ago by the US Department of Agriculture in an effort to protect pecan crops from damage inflicted by other insect pests. Always pleased to see these beneficial insects in the Gardens!
4 weeks ago
I have them in multiple numbers in my master bedroom every year around this time. The double window is on the second floor, where somehow they congregate. Not sure how they get in as the window is aluminum and never opened. Not sure I am doing the right thing, but I vacuum them up every day, lots of them. If there is another way please educate me. I can't sleep in the room during this period.
What do we do if we find them inside? Will they be ok in the cold?
Great Backyard Bird Count is just around the corner!
Sponsored by Bird Watcher Supply Company, co–owner Julia Elliot (and other awesome guides!) will have plenty of fun facts and information to share. Join us Saturday, February 13, from 9AM to 2PM for children’s crafts, bird identification and more! Don’t forget your binoculars! For more information on the Great Backyard Bird Count, visit www.birdcount.org.
1 month ago
Our clearance sale will be making way for great new items in our Gift Shop and Art Gallery! As we make way for new seasons, we will be reducing prices January 30 through February 13th. Come by the gift shop during your Garden visit or stop in just to shop - no admission required to visit the gift shop.
1 month ago
No it looks neat!
EVENTS
Photo credit: Jonathan Kim
CONTINGENT ON COVID CONDITIONS
April 3rd 2021 10AM to 2PM
Fun and games, stories and crafts will abound. Take pictures with the Easter Bunny! Spend time exploring the gardens and visit the newly renovated Gift Shop and Art Gallery. Your family will make memories for a lifetime! Advance tickets are required.
