From the Columbus Botanical Garden:
The Columbus Botanical Garden will reopen on Wednesday, July 1st. The community will again be able to enjoy the gardens, including the ongoing progress of three new garden additions. During the closure of the Columbus Botanical Garden due to COVID-19, our staff has worked tirelessly to continue expanding and improving the gardens. We have begun installing a Pollinator garden, a Perennial garden, and a Ginkgo Shade Tree garden. These three new gardens are part of a ten-year master plan for expansion, which has been made possible thanks to continual support from the Columbus community.
Pollinator Garden:
The new Pollinator garden boasts over 50 unique species of plants and grasses, which is a remarkable amount of diversity to attract pollinators. Pollinator gardens are essential in supporting the local ecosystem by providing food and shelter for pollinating insects, such as the bees we have onsite that make honey for us to sell to the community.
Perennial Garden:
The Perennial garden highlights a variety of beautiful blooms, including some of Georgia’s rare wildflowers and grasses. In a unique partnership, the University of Georgia’s State Botanical Garden, grew these native wildflowers from seed. Additionally, the Perennial garden is surrounded by granite embedded with an inspiring quote by late William Bartram, a renowned American naturalist, about the area’s own Chattahoochee River. Bartram penned these words as he passed through this region in the late 1700s.
An additional historical overture in the Perennial Garden are benches created from re-purposed, mid nineteenth century timber from the Eagle and Phenix Mills and City Mills in Columbus. These timbers were underwater at the Mills for over 150 years.
Ginkgo Shade Tree Garden:
The Ginkgo Shade Tree garden, will offer shade and color with their signature, brilliant yellow fan-shaped leaves in the fall. These trees can live up to a surprising 3,000 years and are sure to provide beauty and shade for many years to come. This Ginkgo Shade Tree garden also includes vibrant Japanese Maple trees and a path that mimics the twists and turns of the Chattahoochee River.
As an additional overture to the local natural history, this garden is accentuated by boulders from Olde Town just 2 miles from the Garden. These gorgeous granite boulders were hand picked to be embedded in the garden paths, telling the story of the deep history in the geology of our region. Each of these gardens celebrates the beauty of many Southern species, as well as these intertwining stories of cultural and natural history.
