On April 18, 2010, the GNPS Garden Tour was held. The day was perfect for garden touring with temperatures mild and the sun shining! The turnout was good, especially for the two gardens in Cobb County, one of which hosted 77 tour goers. There were unique plants to be seen and new ideas for using native plants in the landscape to be learned. Tour goers at the Stone Mountain Propogation Site were given advice on how to keep deer from devouring their plants. And at the Nature Garden at the park, bloom time was peak for such things as granite gooseberry and Florida azalea. One of the volunteers there even spotted a morel mushroom in the leaf litter. The columbine at Faye Borthick's Stone Mountain area garden was in its glory as was the Viburnum rufidulum or Rusty Blackhaw. Julie Newell came up with the idea of labeling her natives and asking tour goers to help identify plants she was not sure of. Her garden even contained a blooming Viburnum nudum. In Cindy Fielder's back yard, there were both rescued plants and plants native to her property on both sides of the stairs leading down to a water feature. The water feature was actually a retention pond with water spraying out of several fountains.

Thanks to the following volunteers who spent time helping members get the most out of their visits to the gardens they visited:

Stone Mountain Park - Linda Lowery, Linda Vanveer, Shelly Rose, Jay Doolittle, Marshall Wilson, Cece Morgan, Susan Meyers, Elaine Nash, Karen Richardson, Karen McCaustland, David Saunders, and Barbara Dorfman

Faye Borthick - Rick and Sandy Krause, Denise Hartline, Susan Hendricks, and Scott Harriss

Julie Newell - Ellen Honeycutt, Renata Boyer, Katie VanRiper, Lois Andresen, Keith Kaylor, Becky Yawn, and Betty Adams

Cindy Fielder - Lillian Huffman, Rita Connell, Diana Whitlock, Karl and Lisa Betz

The Fielder garden, Marietta
	GNPS Native Plant habitat certification award on the arbor leading into the backyard Photo Credit: Don Stewart		"Yard art" alongside oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) and native ferns Photo Credit: Don Stewart
	Hardwoods with ferns and other shade loving understory plantings Photo Credit: Cindy Fielder		Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) and other natives along with bird box attract wildlife to this woodland garden Photo Credit: Cindy Fielder
The Newell garden, Marietta
	Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) in flower on arbor by street Photo Credit: Don Stewart		Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) in flower by front stairs Photo Credit: Don Stewart
	Native ferns thriving in shade of mature hardwood Photo Credit: Julie Newell		Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) in bloom the previous Spring/Summer Photo Credit: Julie Newell
	Julie's sun garden the previous Spring/Summer Photo Credit: Julie Newell		Plants labeled for easy ID Photo Credit: Julie Newell
The Borthick Garden, Stone Mountain
	Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata 'Tangerine Beauty') on Riverbend Forge arbor. Photo Credit: A. Faye Borthick		Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) on arbor over path in back yard Photo Credit: A. Faye Borthick
	Rhododendron in flower along fence in front side yard Photo Credit: A. Faye Borthick		Lichen covered granite outcrop rocks Photo Credit: A. Faye Borthick
	Two kinds of lichen on rock in rear garden Photo Credit: A. Faye Borthick		Rear lawn, columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) in meadow and planter, horsetail (Equisetum arvense) lower right Photo Credit: A. Faye Borthick
	The flock's house and yard with stock tanks for storing rain Photo Credit: A. Faye Borthick
The Stone Mountain Propagation Project and Nature Garden
	Denise Hartline at the Stone Mountain Propogation Site.		Gary Winsett on the path in the Nature Garden between the buckeye and Rhododendron canescens.
	The rain collection system at the propogation site.