Woodlands Garden is an eight
acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
mostly-wooded public garden located in
Decatur, Georgia
Decatur is a city in, and the county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes in ...
.
The Garden's mission is to preserve a
woodland garden
A woodland garden is a garden or section of a garden that includes large trees and is laid out so as to appear as more or less natural woodland, though it is often actually an artificial creation. Typically it includes plantings of flowering shrub ...
as an urban sanctuary to educate and engage the community in the natural world. This public greenspace serves as a
native plant
In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equ ...
habitat for the Georgia
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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region, with over 30 species of trees.
Ferns, wildflowers, vines, and shrubs are common features of the diverse plant collection. The Garden became a protected
greenspace in 2002,
when it was donated by the Morse family to become publicly accessible.
The property has been influenced by
landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...
Edward L. Daugherty,
among others.
In 2015, Woodlands Garden completed a capital campaign to support an expansion to the Garden property and improvements to the current site as part of a master planning process. The multi-year project included
* updating visitor center
* improved parking and creation of safe school bus drop-off zone
* enhancements to the site of former Morse home, including ADA accessible paths
Woodlands Garden is open every day of the year from dawn to dusk for free. In addition to being a tranquil place for reflection, there are several workshops, events, and programs hosted on site. On Sundays, during warm weather months, local musicians perform during Music in the Garden sessions. Family-friendly annual programs such as Fairies in the Garden, Stories in the Woods, and Music, Art, & Youth showcase (M.A.Y. Fair) are organized to engage the community and bring together people of all ages.
The small staff maintains and runs the garden with the help of skilled volunteers and interns. For ways to get involved at this hidden greenspace visit th
Woodlands Garden website(www.woodlandsgarden.org), th
Facebook page(Woodlands Garden of Decatur) or th
Instagram account(@woodlandsgarden) to learn more.
References
{{reflist
External links
Official site
Gardens in Georgia (U.S. state)
Woodland gardens