By Jim Park, Volunteer Coordinator, jparks@smithgilbertgardens.com I think that’s one of the easiest questions to answer.
Thursday Work Group (Master Gardeners and Friends)
By Jan Dahling, MG Volunteer Co-chairperson Yes, Spring is Finally Here!!! Mother Nature is quite amazing in how she can give us a few warm days and this can transfer a garden into something spectacular! We have been quite busy tidying up the perennial beds, the woodland paths, rock and bog gardens. The efforts of our work are beginning to show with … Read More
Volunteer of the Month – Joe Collins
Smith-Gilbert Gardens benefits from the great gardeners network by attracting volunteers at every opportunity. At a Master Gardeners meeting SGG member Jo-Evelyn Morris introduced Joe Collins and his neighbor Ken Johnson to SGG and invited them to visit. Joe called to inquire about how to become a Friend of the Master Gardeners and has grown with us ever since!
Bonsai “Bent”
The wonderful bonsai collection at Smith-Gilbert Garden was created by Atlanta Bonsai Society (ABS) member Dr. Bob Gilbert and Richard Smith over a 35-year period. The growing bonsai collection includes trees donated by Gilbert, Sid and Mary Pratt, Don Schuck, and other area enthusiasts. Garden volunteers and members of the Smith-Gilbert Bonsai Study Group are working under the direction of … Read More
A Rose by Any Other Name
Contributed by Bruce Gillett, MD “This urge, wrestle, resurrection of dry sticks, Cut stems struggling to put down feet, What saint strained so much, Rose on such lopped limbs to a new life?” Cuttings (Later)Theodore Roethke (1908 -1963) I love Roethke’s quote; it speaks to me about pruning roses. Most roses in our area should be pruned during the last … Read More
Volunteer of the Month
If you visit the Hiram Butler House, you will no doubt run in to the diminutive lady at the entry hall desk, Toni Feldstein. Toni hails from New York City. She attended Queensboro College before moving to Connecticut with her husband Alan and their two children. She has spent her career in both Financial Services and Real Estate. After raising … Read More
Docent Training Classes
The Gardens will be holding training classes for persons interested in becoming a Docent. Classes begin on Tuesday February 1st and continue each Tuesday for four weeks. Docents at the Gardens are trained to conduct garden tours as well as tours of the Hiram Butler House. Classes consists of information on Woody & Herbaceous plants, Garden Sculpture and a History … Read More
History of the Hiram Butler House
In 1880, Hiram Anderson Butler built the home that is the centerpiece of Smith-Gilbert Gardens, just outside of what was then called Big Shanty, now Kennesaw. The house is located on what was originally Cherokee land that was disbursed as Land Lot 178 through the 1832 Land Lottery. According to historical land records, Butler bought 160 acres on January 7, … Read More