The Southern Garden History Society is an active membership organization that raises awareness and promotes scholarship of historic gardens, cultural landscapes and horticultural history across the U.S. South. We welcome individuals, families, historic sites, public gardens or organizations interested in southern gardens and landscapes.
Ladies and Lubbers
Another beautiful species of Lycoris to surprise Southern gardeners in late summer is L. squamigera, known as the magic lily or naked lady. Hardy farther north than L. radiata, which was described on this website... Read More
Garden Restoration at Stratford Hall
“In Stratford Hall: An Early Garden Restoration Revisited” Will Rieley, PLA details a project that concluded with returning a significant section of a Colonial Revival garden to a well-informed eighteenth-century configuration. The setting was the Read More
Louisiana’s Natural Treasure: Margaret Stones, Botanical Artist
Margaret Stones was an Australian botanical artist known for her remarkable watercolor drawings published in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine (Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew), Endemic Flora of Tasmania, and Native Flora of Louisiana. Ms. Stones died in... Read More
Spider Lily (Lycoris radiata)
For many Southerners, the red spider lily (Lycoris radiata) is a wonderful surprise in the late summer garden. A delicate red flower of fine petals and long stamens perches atop a naked stem, giving it... Read More
SGHS Welcomes a New President – Perry Matthewes
Perry Mathewes is the deputy director, museum operations and director of gardens at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, VA. He oversees the stewardship the museum facilities, historic structures, seven acres of formal... Read More
Destruction of Garden designed by Clermont Lee
In the fall of 2015, the Girl Scouts USA, now a corporate entity, sent out a letter asking for monetary gifts to redesign the garden area at the Birthplace. The corporate ideal was to remove... Read More
Of Common Mind
For the last four decades the Southern Garden History Society and Dumbarton Oaks have enjoyed a close relationship. Much of this relationship is based on the shared appreciation Read More
Florida Explored: The Philadelphia Connection in Bartram’s Tracks, by Thomas Peter Bennett
Dr. Thomas Peter Bennett, biologist, author, scholar, professor, and SGHS member brings his passion for and in-depth knowledge of American natural history to his latest book Read More
Elizabeth Lawrence: Literary and Horticultural Icon
Elizabeth Lawrence (1904-1985) is best known as an American garden writer—one of the finest of the 20th century. Through a highly informative yet conversational style of writing, she encouraged her readers to embrace diversity in... Read More