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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June 3, 2025
Governor’s Palace Gardens | Colonial Williamsburg | Williamsburg, Virginia
In early May 1994, Society members gathered in Williamsburg for our twelfth annual meeting, the first such event held there....
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May 26, 2025
Atlanta History Center, Goizueta Gardens | Smith Farm | Atlanta, Georgia
The previous post discussed the Atlanta History Center’s (AHC) Goizueta Gardens, named in honor of Olga C. de Goizueta. Specifically,...
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May 21, 2025
Atlanta History Center–Goizueta Gardens Swan House | Atlanta, Georgia
The complex of gardens at the Atlanta History Center (AHC) joins Old Salem’s gardens in Winston-Salem as seedbeds where the...
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May 9, 2025
Fort Worth Botanic Garden | Fort Worth, Texas
The Fort Worth Botanic Garden (FWBG) was truly “deep in the heart” of the SGHS April 2006 annual meeting. As...
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May 4, 2025
Arthur Allen House, “Bacon’s Castle” | Surry County, Virginia
Bacon’s Castle offers one the most notable garden archaeology examples of recent times. Society members have read about it in...
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April 26, 2025
Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Birmingham Parks | Birmingham, Alabama
Founded in 1960 and opened in 1962, the Birmingham Botanical Gardens (BBG) is still in its youth compared to many...
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April 20, 2025
Villa Vizcaya (Vizcaya Museum & Gardens) | Miami, Florida
Vizcaya* should top any SGHS “must-see” list. To date, however, our only experience with James Deering’s grand Florida summer home...
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April 12, 2025
Cheekwood | Nashville, Tennessee
The Society’s first Nashville annual meeting, in 1988, convinced this Tarheel that Tennessee offers far more than fun at Gatlinburg...
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April 6, 2025
Monticello | Charlottesville, Virginia
One cannot overstress the international garden history importance of Monticello, a World Heritage site. Apropos of that significance, the Society’s...
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March 29, 2025
Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden | Bishopville, South Carolina
Great gardens are not always a result of landscape architecture degrees from Harvard or of vast wealth. Instead, a good...
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