Atlanta Botanical Garden - Gainesville

I've been wanting to visit the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Gainesville since it opened and finally went recently...it's a magical place with lots of room to grow! I highly recommend a visit to explore...and be sure to bring your camera!

Atlanta Botanical Garden - Gainesville | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

Some of the programming at the Gainesville location mimics—not exactly though—what you might see at the Midtown location. Wonderful for visitors, they have their own "Imaginary Worlds" exhibition, with some sculptures that Atlantans have never seen—including TWO PANDAS!!!—and others that we've seen before but that have new plantings. 

Atlanta Botanical Garden - Gainesville | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

It's not as far away as you might think, either! Heading north on I-85 and I-985, it's only an hour from the Atlanta Botanical Garden in Midtown! There are more scenic routes that add only another 20 minutes. Did you know it was that close?! 

If you're a member, admission is free. Regular admission is only $8 for adults and $5 for kids...a fantastic deal considering the beauty within! It's smaller (for now) than Atlanta, but it's a wonderful place.

Atlanta Botanical Garden - Gainesville | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

I opened with the recommendation to bring your camera when you visit. I wasn't sure what to expect when I visited, whether or not they would have the same plantings as they do at the Atlanta location, but let me put that to rest right now...

The plantings here are beautiful, they're stunning, and you will definitely see plants, trees and flowers that you do not see at the Midtown location. I was delighted with every corner and path I turned.

Atlanta Botanical Garden - Gainesville | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

Many of us know that the Midtown Atlanta location has 'Cocktails in the Garden' on Thursday evenings. The Gainesville location is hosting its first Flamingle in the Garden this coming Thursday, June 6, 2019!

Themed to the fabulous 50s, the Garden will be loaded with groovy fun: a mobile record shop by the local folks at Imperial Records, hula-hoop and limbo contests starting at 7 p.m. on the Terrace, games on the Event Lawn, DJ and live oldies music in the Ivester Amphitheater and more.

This inaugural event sounds like great fun!

Atlanta Botanical Garden - Gainesville | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

Also at the Gainesville location for "Imaginary Worlds" is The Ogre, which was one of my favorites during the 2013-2014 exhibit at the Atlanta location! 

When you check-in at the Visitor Center, be sure to ask about the location of the sculptures. The Ogre is off the beaten path—to the left when you first enter the Garden. The others are along the main path which makes a giant loop through the Garden.

Atlanta Botanical Garden - Gainesville | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

A super-popular program at the Midtown location, "Concerts in the Garden" also takes place at the Gainesville location. They have fewer concerts (so far), but they have a huge amphitheater perfect for this kind of entertaining! 

Concerts in the Garden performances in Gainesville will be in June and August, so you have plenty of time to get tickets. Actually, I'm assuming that....based on photos of other concerts there, they sell out, so maybe don't wait to long to get tickets if you know you want to go.

Atlanta Botanical Garden - Gainesville | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

Rumpelstiltskin is here for "Imaginary Worlds" and he's looking better than ever! You have to be careful though...as much as he makes you think it's a great idea to pick a tree and take a nap in this wholly delightful garden, you should keep to the path and perhaps find one of the many benches throughout the garden.  

Atlanta Botanical Garden - Gainesville | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

The Model Train Garden was a wonderful surprise and it's there year-round! 

At first I thought it was only running during special events, but the friend I went with, Wayne, connected the dots and pressed the giant red button—which I totally missed out of all the excitement—and the train emerged from the landscaped tunnel to begin its multi-run journey around the tracks. 

This special little garden made this train-lover very happy!

Atlanta Botanical Garden - Gainesville | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

Just to the right when entering the Garden there's a lovely Forest Pond that features flowering water lilies and other aquatic plants.

Atlanta Botanical Garden - Gainesville | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

There's so much more for me—and you!—to discover at the beautiful Atlanta Botanical Garden - Gainesville! Now under construction is a 2-acre Children's Garden, I believe slated to open later this year. 

This Garden has come a long way since opening and it's obvious they're going to become a major northeast Georgia destination! Enjoy your visit!

Imaginary Worlds: Once Upon a Time

The newest exhibition at the Atlanta Botanical Garden is exciting beyond words...you must see it in real-life! It takes you to a time when you loved playing make-believe, a time of fairy-tales, a time of larger-than-life mysterious and mythical creatures...it takes you to "Imaginary Worlds".

Dragon | Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

Atlantans and tourists were blown away when Imaginary Worlds came to the Atlanta Botanical Garden in 2013 and again in 2014. The new exhibition, Imaginary Worlds: Once Upon a Time, far surpasses the wonderment we we knew then, as impossible as that sounds. 

The Dragon on the Great Lawn has become an immediate visitor favorite, and be sure to not miss the Sleeping Princess in the flower bed at its feet.

I've already seen the exhibition numerous times, with my 20+ years friend Jeff and fellow friends, my foodie friend Sally, my dear friend Katherine from D.C. who now lives in Florida, and I got to go on the media preview before the exhibition opened to the public...the sculptures have grown in nicely since then. And I'm going back at least a few times in the next couple of months! 

"Imaginary Worlds was just so incredibly popular with our guests that we just had to bring it back—but with an all-new twist," said Mary Pat Matheson, the Garden’s President & CEO, who had assumed leadership of the Garden only a couple of years before she bought Chihuly to to the Atlanta Botanical Garden in 2004 (the first time), the grandest visionary move since the Conservatory opened in 1989.

Pegasus | Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

Imaginary Worlds: Once Upon a Time is a storybook-themed exhibition, featuring magical and mythical creatures in more than a dozen installations displayed outdoors and indoors.

Cocktails in the Garden is back, too! That means you get to see the sculptures dramatically lit as the sun goes down. Some of the creatures have illuminated eyes, including the Pegasus, that are more like catchlight than glowing...they're spectacular! 

The hours for Cocktails in the Garden have changed to half an hour earlier. It's now 5:30pm to 9:30pm, which is great news for those of us who enjoy going straight from the office.

Phoenix | Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

As if the sculptures alone weren't exciting enough, Imaginary Worlds: Once Upon a Time is a two-year exhibition! This year it runs through Sunday, October 28, but don't wait. Once you've seen it the first time, you'll want to go again and again and again.

The sculptures were created by International Mosaiculture of Montreal and were then transported in environmentally-controlled trucks more than 1,200 miles to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. It took a period of time to complete the installation once onsite.

Phoenix | Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

Being three-dimensional, be sure to take advantage of seeing the whole of the sculptures that you can, particularly the Phoenix. You can't miss the Phoenix as you walk up the Promenade toward Longleaf restaurant. It's perched on the edge of Alston Overlook, the highest point in the Garden.

During one visit, there was a storyteller who dramatically told the story of the Phoenix and its connection to Atlanta...not a boring recant of historical facts (don't get me wrong, I love history), but a fantastical regaling of the rebirth of Atlanta!

Fire Artist| Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

Speaking of fiery events, there was also a roving barker and fire artist who put on a spectacular show! There's lots of entertainment, a bit of it roving, so keep your eyes out! 

Camels| Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

Be sure to check out the Skyline Garden, behind the Conservatory and Orchid Center, where you'll see a trio of traveling Camels, and if you're there for Cocktails in the Garden, there's another bar over there, that probably has the shortest line!

Faerie| Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

The sculptures are not the only magical creatures in the Garden! On one particular evening, there was a violin-playing faerie!

I don't know what other entertainment is planned for Cocktails in the Garden, but it's so far been absolutely fantastical! Do say "Hello!" and ask to make a photo with them...the entertainers have all been wonderfully friendly.

Woolly Mammoth | Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

While I love the dragon and the phoenix, the Woolly Mammoth is monumentally magnificent! And it's a natural fit in its Atlanta Botanical Garden habitat. 

Some of the creatures are seemingly hidden, but if you miss one going in one direction, you'll see it on your return. My recommendation is that you pick up an exhibition map upon arrival so that you're sure not to miss anything! 

Earth Goddess | Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

We here in Atlanta have enjoyed Earth Goddess (Ice Goddess during the holiday lights show) and Shaggy Dog since the 2013 exhibition and they're as delightful as ever. 

If you're visiting Atlanta or going to the Garden for the first time for the first time in many years, Earth Goddess was one of the sculptures that we kept after that exhibition finished, like the three Chihuly glass sculptures we kept after their respective exhibitions.

Atlanta Botanical Garden Gainesville is in on the action, too! They're hosting the Ogre that we enjoyed a few years back. For a creature known to not have a terribly pleasant disposition, this Ogre is so much fun! Their exhibition is Imaginary Worlds: Ogre and Friends, some of the friends being Pandas!!!

Imaginary Worlds: Once Upon a Time | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

Imaginary Worlds: Once Upon a Time at the Atlanta Botanical Garden is a must-see to get a true sense of the wonders that Atlanta offers and Cocktails in the Garden, on Thursday evenings, is perfect for a date night, a get together with friends, and definitely for "something different" to do. See you there!

Imaginary Worlds Come to Life

Orangutans, several species of exotic frogs, and a pink unicorn are among the stars this summer at the Atlanta Botanical Garden's new "Imaginary Worlds: A New Kingdom of Plant Giants" exhibition. Now through October 31, Garden visitors will enjoy nine new characters for a total of 28 larger-than-life living sculptures.

Imaginary Worlds: A New Kingdom of Plant Giants

“This exhibition will be the largest ever presented in the U.S. and promises to be another ‘wildly’ successful one,” says Mary Pat Matheson, the Garden’s president and CEO.

For one more summer, International Mosaiculture of Montreal brings to Atlanta a truly unique garden experience. The 28 living sculptures, most comprised of thousands of individual plants, bring to life many animals, real and imaginary, as well as Earth Goddess, who is a permanent feature.

I've long been wonderfully entertained by orangutans, so when I learned that they would be featured in Imaginary Worlds, I was totally excited. And the pair look fantastic! 

Imaginary Worlds: A New Kingdom of Plant Giants

Many visitors don't realize until they visit the Atlanta Botanical Garden for the first time that the Garden is engaged in amphibian research and conservation, which is quite a significant program. And at any given time, there are hundreds of frogs in the Garden.

Guests get to see some of the endangered species in the Fuqua Conservatory, and there are even more rare species on the Garden complex, but off public view. And of course there are the hundreds of bullfrogs that visitors see in the various water features.

These conservation efforts are quite serious...they're addressing the extinction of dozens of species of frogs in Latin America--it's rather cool that Atlanta is involved in this effort, and perhaps critical to human survival in the long run.

Imaginary Worlds: A New Kingdom of Plant Giants

For an even more unique experience, catch the Imaginary Worlds sculptures during the evening hours at Cocktails in the Garden. Each month has a different theme and specialty cocktail, this month's being "Earth Goddess: I'll Have What She's Having."

Cocktails in the Garden is Thursdays 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m...a great 'date night' option. It's included in admission, but cocktails are separate, but are reasonable. Lethal Rhythms will be DJing, there will be chef demos in the Outdoor Kitchen, and be sure to check out Science Cafe every third Thursday of the month.

Imaginary Worlds: A New Kingdom of Plant Giants

The unicorn in last year's Imaginary World's exhibition suffered at the excessive rain Atlanta experienced. So, this year they're using different plants and she's in a new location. I think the kids are going to love the pink unicorn!

Speaking of the kiddies, there's a ton of programming specifically designed to teach kids about gardens, science, and animals. And in the Children's Garden there's a well-attended Wednesday mornings story-time reading.

Imaginary Worlds: A New Kingdom of Plant Giants

I'm an animal lover, but not so much a pet person...could you imagine how neglected 'my' pet(s) would be as much as I'm out wanderlusting? I think it's responsible of me to not have a pet, as much fun as having one would be. 

With that said, I've heard time and again from visitors that one of their favorite sculptures is the Shaggy Dog. And I've heard many say that he's made from pine needles, while in fact he's in fact made of living plants, that just happen to look like pine needles. He's adorable either way.

Imaginary Worlds: A New Kingdom of Plant Giants

I don't know if it's just because the Imaginary World's plants are new and fresh, or because of the new patterns, but they're incredibly vibrant! I hope we don't have as much rain as we did last year...if not, we're in for a full summer of spectacular giant living sculptures!

Imaginary Worlds: A New Kingdom of Plant Giants

I love hearing the fascination of visitors who comment on the "dancing" fish. In fact, they spin to ensure that all sides receive ample sunshine. What a wonderfully brilliant solution, right?

Imaginary Worlds: A New Kingdom of Plant Giants

With the increase of nine sculptures this year, they're spread further throughout the Garden...a wonderful solution to getting visitors to explore parts of the Garden that many visitors might not see during a typical visit.

Some of the sculptures are in and near the Aquatic Plant Pond and near the desert plants garden on the opposite side of the Conservatory from the Edible Garden, which I think is brilliant...there are some beautiful plantings on that side of the Garden!

Imaginary Worlds: A New Kingdom of Plant Giants

With 28 living sculptures there are ample photo-ops, particularly the Ogre and the two Cobras, the Cobras being one of the most popular photo-ops, and for good reason...they're spectacular! Just be sure to check out the back of their hoods, meaning you'll need to exit the main path to see the incredible and brilliant patterns on the cobras' backs.

Imaginary Worlds: A New Kingdom of Plant Giants

I'm loving this particular frog in the fountain in front of the Fuqua Conservatory ... seriously, look at him! How can you not smile looking at those fantastic eyes?!

Visitors are invited to view a public frog feeding every Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. The amphibian specialists conducting the feeding love answering questions about the frogs and the Garden's conservation efforts, so ask away!

Make plans now to see the new "Imaginary Worlds: A New Kingdom of Plant Giants" at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, and I recommend seeing it soon, because I'm certain you'll want to see it more than once. And check out the extensive programming at the Garden...there's a LOT going on there!