The Southern Garden History Society is a group of enthusiasts and professionals that fosters and shares scholarly research about our historic gardens, cultural landscapes, and horticultural history through educational programs and publications. We celebrate the beauty and diversity of the South’s historic gardens and encourage their preservation and restoration so they may enrich the lives of others.
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From Texas to Maryland: Our Southern Garden Odyssey
Over the decades since our founding in 1982, SGHS members have visited scores of landscapes and gardens covering a wide expanse of the southern United States, ranging from Texas to Maryland, Florida to Kentucky and all in between. Some spots have been small and intimate, while others are recognized as internationally important. We are creating and populating a Gardens page as a means of recalling those gardens and their significance with those who joined in, as well as with Society members who were absent. As well, some gardens may be those not yet toured but which we hope very much to add to a future itinerary. An additional goal is that any visitor to our website, member or not, will find these verbal sketches, images, links, and book recommendations a welcome boost to their understanding of the richly vibrant garden history of the American South.
University of Georgia (Part Two: post-Civil War to Modern Times) | Athens, Georgia
The previous Gardens page post discussed the early days of the University of Georgia (UGA) campus, focusing on the quadrangle between Old College and Broad Street … Read More
University of Georgia, North Campus | Athens, Georgia
College and University campuses are some of the most visited and widely-recognized designed landscapes across the globe. Readers know, of course, that point surely holds true … Read More
Sarah P. Duke Gardens | Durham, North Carolina
Growing up only five miles away from the Sarah P. Duke Gardens (SPDG), this writer found the site an easy-to-reach and often-visited destination during his younger … Read More
Bruton Parish Churchyard | Williamsburg, Virginia
Readers of these posts doubtlessly know that burying grounds, whether ancient churchyards or park-like cemeteries, can be fascinating designed landscapes to visit and are often good … Read More
Magnolia Spring 2025 | Vol. XXXVII, no. 1
The spring 2025 issue of Magnolia features an in-depth review by SGHS board members Jessica Russell Hilton, Adam Martin, and Eric Jackson of the Society’s recent … Read More
More articles can be found in our ARCHIVES