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 this 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.
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October 19, 2025
Texas German Landscapes New Braunfels Region
Previous Gardens page essays have discussed a large group of designed Southern landscapes. Taking a different direction, this post will...
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October 12, 2025
Gunston Hall | Fairfax County, Virginia
Less famous than nearby Mount Vernon or Monticello one-hundred miles distant, Northern Virginia’s Gunston Hall nonetheless offers a rewarding opportunity...
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October 3, 2025
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...
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September 22, 2025
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...
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September 16, 2025
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...
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September 5, 2025
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...
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August 23, 2025
Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden | Dallas, Texas
The Southern Garden History Society has so far missed out on an annual meeting visit to the Dallas Arboretum and...
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August 15, 2025
Biltmore | Asheville, North Carolina
While often imposing in unique ways, gardens and homes visited by the Society have never matched the near-surreal scale and...
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August 11, 2025
Cummer Museum & Gardens | Jacksonville, Florida
SGHS members are particularly drawn to Ellen Biddle Shipman gardens. Although much of her work is found outside of our...
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August 4, 2025
Montpelier | Montpelier Station, Virginia
Twice visited by SGHS, Montpelier was both the plantation home of an American presidential family as well as the early-twentieth-century...
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