Chapters in Georgia Native Plant Society
History
Over two decades ago, the Georgia Native Plant Society was founded by people based in metro Atlanta. Since that time, their initiative and message around the importance of native plants to our lives and the ability of individuals to make a difference locally in their protection, stewardship, rescue and propagation, has spread across Georgia and in fact across the USA. Today our members are served in other locations across the state where local groups are providing educational information, restoration opportunities and opportunities to learn more.
Realignment
In November 2019, GNPS adopted new bylaws, which implemented a state-wide governing board to set organizational policy, define its strategic vision, and directly support chapter activities. This new organizational structure paved the way for more chapters to form throughout Georgia.
Join a chapter
There are currently 8 chapters of the Georgia Native Plant Society. As a member of GNPS you too can get to work and join like minded people in your area by aligning yourself with one of our chapters.
For current members, login and update your chapter affiliation through the chapter affiliation form. For new or renewing members, select your chapter affiliation on the membership form.
Form a chapter
Let us know if you are interested in learning more about how to join or start up a local chapter near you in the state of Georgia by using the Contact Us form. Current members can also use the Chapter Interest Form. To learn more about the overall process, view the Chapter Quick Start Guide. For a more in-depth guide to forming and running a chapter, see the Chapter Manual.
News & Events
Hike with the Fringe @ Theron Ussery Park (N. Macon)
Theron Ussery Park is located in North Macon. Show up around 10:45 AM to read over and sign the GNPS waiver, chat with other participants, smear on the sunscreen, apply bug spray, and tuck those pants legs into your crew socks.
Restrooms and potable water are available at the recreation center.
This trail is considered an easy to moderate difficulty. Some trail areas may be overgrown at times.
The Nature of Oaks, an In Person Event with Doug Tallamy
Join the Georgia Tree Network for an exceptional in-person talk by NewYork Times best-selling author and renowned scientist Doug Tallamy! This event will be held on Thursday, March 26 at the UGA Tate Student Center.
The event is free and open to the public but a ticket must be reserved!
Building a Better Backyard for Birds
Join us on Sunday, March 8th at 2 pm at the Athens Clarke County Extension Office for a presentation from Dr. Richard Hall, Associate Professor at the Odum School of Ecology. Dr. Hall will share his knowledge and experience transforming his Athens backyard from a space full of invasive plants to a native habitat supporting birds and other wildlife.
Please bring any seeds you want to share and swap with others if you have them! Please leave any live plants outside the building. You can also purchase our yard signs and t-shirts at the meeting.
Events are always free and open to the public!
The Athens-East Piedmont Chapter usually meets:
- In odd numbered months: the 2nd Sunday of the month from 2 pm – 3:30 pm at the Athens-Clarke County Extension Office.
- In even numbered months: the 2nd Wednesday of the month from 6 pm – 7:30 at Sandy Creek Nature Center.
- These meetings may be rescheduled if there are field trips or work days.
5th Annual Intown Atlanta Native Garden Tour
You’re invited to the fifth annual Intown Atlanta GNPS Native Garden Tour. Tickets include admission to four habitats.
Purchase Tickets
Register for this day of self-guided tours and get inspired about adding native plants to your yard or patio. Spring is the perfect time of year to view the beautiful woodland wildflowers and spring ephemerals of our featured gardens. Meander down woodland paths, stroll past buckeyes and flowering azaleas, and admire the spring blooms that attract bees, hummingbirds, and more.
The gardens are located in Gwinnett County. Visit each garden in any order on April 18th between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm, and learn from the homeowner or primary gardener and GNPS volunteers who will be on site to answer questions.
This tour has sold out in the past, so invite your friends and family and get your tickets early! Volunteers and children under 18 attend free.
The garden tour is Intown Atlanta’s major annual fundraising event. Ticket sales support our educational, restoration, and advocacy activities focused on inspiring Atlanta to grow and preserve native plants. We also warmly invite you to make an additional donation to our chapter when you register for the tour. Your support makes our all-volunteer-led work possible!
Interested in Volunteering?
Volunteers will be asked to work four-hour shifts at one of the gardens and can attend the rest of the tour for free. If interested, email lauren.owens@gnps.org.
Not Yet a GNPS Member?
Join GNPS and save $5 on your ticket, plus become eligible for other member-only events, including plant rescues and small group visits to newly certified gardens. Your GNPS membership supports work on native plants throughout the state.
A brochure that includes the addresses and property descriptions will be emailed to ticket holders one week before the event. This is a rain or shine event.
2026 Garden Tour Featured Gardens
Garden 1
Adjacent to a forested floodplain, this 4-acre lot near Lilburn features a cultivated bird habitat along with thriving pollinator and meadow gardens. Once heavily impacted by invasive plants, the property has been steadily reclaimed to restore native flora and support local wildlife. The property showcases many of our native fern species. Visitors will see a variety of habitat zones designed to provide food, shelter, and nesting resources for birds, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. The gardens showcase how native plants can be used to create beauty, resilience, and ecological function in an HOA Covenant neighborhood.
Garden 2
This beautiful and expansive wooded property on the Yellow River in Gwinnett County is verdant in spring with newly emerged wildflowers and ferns under a diverse tree canopy. Over many years of gradually expanding planting islands, all of the lawn has been replaced with native perennials, shrubs, and groundcovers.
Quiet mulched trails wind through the trees to allow visitors to tour the 1.24 acre property without stepping on the many native plants that thrive here, including Allegheny spurge, several species of trilliums, and so much more. Many of the plants were rescued on GNPS rescues; others are native to the property or acquired through plant sales, native plant nurseries, or from the Stone Mountain Propagation Project.
Garden 3
This 1/3 acre wooded garden in Lilburn was started in 1999. Traditional gardening styles evolved over time into gardening to create habitat for wildlife and outside living. Plantings have grown to include many native pollinator plants and plants that help feed birds and other wildlife. Lawns have been reduced to minimal areas for paths. A beautiful blueberry hedge lines the driveway and feeds the family and the birds. Whimsical art pottery and a cedar branch tree provide fun elements to search for throughout the garden. This GNPS Gold award garden is also registered with NWF as a wildlife habitat, Xerces Society for arthropod support, and Homegrown National Park. Over 65 species of birds have been identified as feeding in the garden and numerous species nest and raise their young in the wooded areas.
Garden 4
When the owner moved into her home in Snellville about 28 years ago, the sunny front yard was a Bermuda grass lawn with a maple tree in the center and the usual hollies at the foundation of the house. Her first move was to pull out the hollies and start removing grass. The maple tree has gotten much bigger but is now amidst buckeyes, a dogwood, and native azaleas, as well as many native wildflowers, including Eastern columbine, wild geranium, downy coreopsis, grass-leaf blazing star, golden alexander, Amsonia, and hairy spiderwort.
The wooded backyard is full of spring ephemerals, such as trillium, bloodroot, Jacob’s ladder, and mayapple, as well as rescued Piedmont azalea. Coral honeysuckle, virgin’s bower, and climbing hydrangea bloom in the spring. Small rain gardens have been added to help control run off, along with raised beds for herbs.
Purchase Tickets
We are so grateful to the 2026 Native Garden Tour sponsors for generously supporting Intown Atlanta GNPS and the work we do to promote native plants and healthy ecosystems in the Atlanta area.
North Georgia Native Plant Nursery
Act Naturally Landscape Design
Please come out and enjoy!
Intown Atlanta Garden Tour Committee
Explore Hitchiti Loop Trail with the Fringe
Hitchiti Trail is located off of Jarrell Plantation Road, with parking at 1577 Jarrell Plantation Rd, Gray, GA 31032. Show up around 12:45pm to read over and sign the GNPS waiver, chat with other participants, smear on the sunscreen and bug spray, and tuck those pants legs into your crew socks.
No restrooms or potable water at this location.
This trail is considered an easy to moderate difficulty. Some trail areas may be overgrown at times. If you use hiking poles, bring them; if you don’t, you should be fine.
Facebook Event will have most recent information available: https://www.facebook.com/events/1401599765314501
Sign Up Requested. If event is cancelled or postponed, you can be notified before showing up to an empty parking lot with limited cell reception: https://forms.gle/9j6YQ9UBQ43mU8vx9
