As part of the Gold in Your Garden II symposium, a plant sale featuring
Georgia Gold Medal plants will be held in front of the Callaway Building
at The State Botanical Garden of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia, from 10
a.m. to 4 p.m. All are welcome to shop, whether or not they are
attending the symposium. Come shop for proven performers for Georgia
gardeners among plant experts, garden curators and master gardeners who
are more than happy to help you choose the right plants for your garden.
In addition, the Garden will host the Gold in Your Garden symposium from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on the same date.
The State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens is the headquarters for
the Georgia Gold Medal Program, which has selected easy to find,
easy-care landscape plants with many seasons of interest for Georgia
gardens. There are now over 75 plants in this versatile plant palette.
Coach Vince Dooley and nationally known writer, photographer and
lecturer Rita Randolph will highlight this second Gold in Your Garden
symposium, a day at The State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens that
includes speakers, a book signing, a plant sale, raffle prizes and
lunch.
For additional information, visit www.georgiagoldmedalplants.org or
call 706-542-1244.
Symposium Schedule
- 8:30 a.m. Registration; Raffle tickets available throughout the day
- 9 a.m. Welcome; Shelly Prescott, Director of the Georgia Gold Medal Program
- 9:05 a.m. Foolproof Plants for the Horticulturally Challenged; Wilf Nicholls, Director of The State Botanical Garden of Georgia. Gold Medal Plants are chosen to be reliable, unfussy, easy-to-find plants that can create the backbone of your garden. Using these Gold Medal plants as your main structure, your garden can be beautiful year-round with less work, freeing up time for the rest of your life or to discover all the other plants available.
- 9:50 a.m. The Magic Plant 8-Ball: Shrubs & Trees That May Win a Georgia Gold Medal in the Future; Matthew Chappell, UGA Cooperative Extension faculty member. Each year only one plant can be chosen for each Georgia Gold Medal plant category. After a review of what the selection committee looks for and discusses, Matthew will take us on an adventure of shrubs and trees that are worthy of recognition but just have not quite gotten over the hump to become a Georgia Gold Medal plant. Included will be several trees and shrubs that may fit into the newly created native plant category.
- 10:35 a.m. Break; Plant Sale opens
- 11 a.m. Keynote Speaker, Coach Vince Dooley
- 12 p.m. Lunch in the Visitor Center. A buffet lunch with vegetarian options in the Gardenside Room, overlooking the International Garden; book Signing by Coach Dooley.
- 1:15 p.m. Outdoor Rooms; Rita Randolph, owner, Randolph Greenhouses, Jackson, Tennessee. Techniques for transforming your back yard into an integrated, useful living space with areas for lively entertainment, quiet relaxation, and the pavers, thresholds and garden walls that bring it all together. Let the many visual examples from gardens across the country inspire you to create your own ‘Out-Door Rooms’, enhancing them with Gold Medal plants.
- 2:15 p.m. Raffle Winners Announced. Raffle prizes include specimen plants, garden items and a gift basket from the Garden Gift Shop.
- 4 p.m. Plant Sale Ends
