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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July 6, 2025

Kenmore | Fredericksburg, Virginia

Society members visiting Kenmore during the 2005 Fredericksburg annual meeting found a site steeped in the lore of both the...
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June 29, 2025

Afton Villa | St. Francisville, Louisiana

Southern Garden History Society members have visited the Afton Villa gardens during two annual meetings. The first occasion came during...
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June 23, 2025

Old Salem Museums & Gardens | Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Many readers know the importance of Old Salem as the birthplace of the Southern Garden History Society and for decades...
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June 17, 2025

Crowfield Plantation Gardens Site | Goose Creek, South Carolina

Dating to the 1730s, the gardens at Crowfield north of Charleston once ranked among the finest in colonial South Carolina....
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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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