With the change in the governing structure of GNPS, GNPS board leadership is no longer organizing bi-monthly meetings in Atlanta. Members are encouraged to form groups that might become metro Atlanta chapters and host local educational events. This meeting is the first such event. Come meet your fellow members and exchange ideas about more local educational events, and bring a friend!

“The Best Native Plants for Home & Business & How to Use Them” is the topic for this educational presentation and Rick Barnes will be the presenter. While the focus of the talk is on trees and shrubs, some attention will be given to the concepts of provenance, evaluation of the landscape as a plant community, and some interesting facts about pollinators.

The presentation starts at 7 pm, gather for meet and greet at 6:30 pm. The meeting will be in the Community Room in Alpharetta City Hall. Parking is available along the street in front of City Hall and in the parking garage across from the library. The address for City Hall is 2 Park Plaza, Alpharetta, GA 30009.

Rick Barnes has been an active horticulturist in Atlanta for over 35 years, working in the interiorscape industry during and after graduation from the University of Georgia, and then as co-owner of Greensphere Landscaping, Inc., an award-winning design-build-maintenance firm. Greensphere was acquired by NatureScapes, Inc. in 1996 and Rick stayed with the company as Vice-President of Sales and Marketing until March of 2016, when he became a part of the team at Downey Trees, Inc. There, he is a Business Developer for the Tree & Plant Health Care division, which provides treatments for the care of living trees and improvement of their growing conditions. Read more