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
Nature Walk at the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge
The Fringed Campion Chapter members and friends (that includes you!) are invited to gather at the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, May 31, 2025 at 9 am for an easy Forester led hike. Participants will get the opportunity to view areas of past prescribed burns and learn how the refuge is managed with fire. We will meet in the parking lot of the Allison Creek Trail. To get to this parking lot, continue past the turn off for the visitor center and proceed to the end of the road.
Piedmont Wildlife Refuge Interactive Map
Piedmont Wildlife Refuge Trail Map (pdf)
This is anticipated to be an easy walk, but be prepared for the challenges of mud, roots, rocks, and elevation change. Check the weather forecast and be prepared with ponchos or sunblock (but with Georgia weather, maybe both!). Ticks are present in the refuge and bug spray is recommended, as are long pants, long sleeves, a hat, and sturdy closed toe shoes.
Cell phone service at the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge is spotty at best. Restrooms and potable water are not available.
All participants will sign a GNPS waiver of liability before the event.
Check the Facebook event for any last minute updates: https://www.facebook.com/events/611870608525319
June Meeting Will Get You “Rescue Ready”
The West Georgia Chapter’s June 17 meeting features a presentation on “Pro TIps for Better Plant Rescues.” (Note – the date of this meeting was listed incorrectly in the May newsletter.) If you have never been on a GNPS plant rescue, or if it’s been a while since your last one, don’t miss this informative session. We’ll explain how to register for a rescue, the rules that participants must follow, how to prepare for the rescue, what to take with you, and how to get your plants home safely. We’ll also help you avoid common newbie mistakes that can spoil the experience.
“New members are often nervous about going on their first rescue,” notes Jackie Miller, one of the chapter’s rescue facilitators. “They aren’t sure how to dress or what to take with them, and they may be worried because their plant ID skills are weak. But we want them to know that first-timers always get lots of support from more experienced rescuers, and they will go home with some great plants.”
There will be a reception with light refreshments at 6:30, and the presentation will start at 7:00, followed by a drawing for door prizes at the end of the meeting. There’s no admission charge, and the meeting is open to everyone; however, note that participation in rescues is limited to GNPS members.
Athens-East Piedmont Spring Plant Sale THIS Weekend!
Join us on Saturday May 3 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Sunrise Nursery (550 Athens Road, Winterville). We’ll have a wide selection of native perennials, grasses, sedges, ferns, shrubs, trees, and vines – Twice as many plants as last year! See below for the current availability list. See you there!
Smoke Stack Farmer’s Market (Macon) Plant Sale
The Fringed Campion Chapter has accepted an invitation to be a vendor at the Smoke Stack Farmer’s Market on Saturday, May 17, 2025 from 9 am until 1 pm. The Smoke Stack Farmer’s Market will be at 342 Rose Avenue in Macon, on the lawn at Payne Mill Antique Market.
We hope that you stop by to visit with chapter members, learn about chapter activities, ask questions about native plants, share your experiences about adding natives to your home habitat, and shop a wide selection of native plants ideal for middle Georgia yards. Plants at our sale are propagated and donated by chapter members passionate about the importance of native plants in the landscape.
Contact fringedcampion@gnps.org if you would like to volunteer your time or donate plants you have grown for the sale.
Check the Facebook event for any last minute updates: https://www.facebook.com/events/1175421487152307
Native Garden Tour 2025
You’re invited to the fourth annual Intown Atlanta GNPS Native Garden Tour. Tickets include admission to five habitats.
Register for this day of self-guided tours and get inspired about adding native plants to your yard or patio. The gardens are located in North Druid Hills and Decatur. Visit each garden in any order on June 7 between 9:30 am and 3:30 pm, and learn from the homeowner or primary gardener and GNPS volunteers who will be on site to answer questions.
Four are private urban gardens brimming with native plants. The fifth is a neighborhood pocket park. Each is a certified GNPS Native Plant Habitat, created to support pollinators and other wildlife.
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!
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.
Our 2025 Garden Tour Sponsors:
2025 Garden Tour Featured Gardens
Garden 1
For the past 20 years, the owners of this Lindmoor Woods property have been rewilding their half-acre corner. Their garden, which consists of plants from GNPS plant rescues, local purchases, and seeding, serves as a joyful working experiment in high-biodiversity ecological landscaping.
The front garden features small shrubs, grasses and perennials, including Coreopsis, Spigelia, Butterfly Weed and Wild Bergamot. A bog garden attracts many neighbors stopping to ask about the pitcher plants. The rear and side areas of the yard contain a diversity of mature native trees supplemented with understory trees, shrubs, ferns, perennials, and spring ephemerals. The couple has implemented other green building measures on the property including a large greenhouse, green roofs, a rainwater collection system, and greywater recycling.
Garden 2
In 2000, the owners of this 0.9 acre home in Clairmont Heights of Decatur began clearing the English Ivy and turf grass that covered the property. The large diversity of native plants that now covers 90% of the property was made possible by participation in numerous GNPS rescues.
An emphasis was placed on creating groundcovers, including Allegheny Spurge, Partridgeberry, Shuttleworth Ginger, and Woodland Stonecrop. Gardens are shade or part shade/sun. Rock gardens and a rain garden accommodate special environments. Featured herbaceous plants include a variety of sedges, grasses and ferns, plus Allegheny-spurge, Tennessee Coneflower, Canada Lily, Stokes Aster, Whorled Coreopsis, Alumroot, Wild Geranium, and Sundrops.
Garden 3
Noise from Clairmont Road motivated the owner of this North Druid Hills house to begin planting trees and shrubs in his front yard as a sound buffer. He began to discover his own design style, initially incorporating mostly non-native species. Volunteering with Trees Atlanta connected him with smart folks following a different path. As he participated in planting, pruning, and restoration projects, he learned to identify and love native species and to remove invasive plants like ivy and privet.
Over the next 25 years, he planted as many native plants as he could fit on his one-third acre lot and got rid of non-native species. He found his purpose in growing his very own forest, with trees that include Kentucky Coffee, Sassafras, Black Gum, Longleaf Pine, and many Oaks and Hickories. Recently, he has been working on creating a stumpery garden to incorporate dead wood as a design and habitat element. His yard now boasts about 40 native tree and 70 native plant species, serving as a beautiful, thriving mini-arboretum.
Garden 4
A lifelong gardener, the owner of this Decatur property finds that her garden is ever-evolving. Her training as a visual artist is reflected in her incorporation of color and pattern into the design of her landscape. In 2012, she removed overgrown Crape Myrtles and Nandinas from her front yard and replaced them with beds of pollinator plants, like Yellow Giant Hyssop, Ironweed, Bee Balm, and Goldenrod. In the expansive backyard where ivy once ran rampant, she’s created rain gardens, a hedgerow, a pond, and a bog. American Lotus, Pickerel Weed, and Marsh Fern thrive in the aquatic and riparian areas. Existing trees, including Pecans, Black Walnuts, and Hackberry, are underplanted with Hydrangeas, Viburnums, Pawpaws, ferns, sedges, and other native species.
Garden 5
| Walter’s Woods, a pocket park in Decatur, is a perfect example of what dedicated neighbors can accomplish! In 2005, residents of this Dekalb neighborhood began clearing three empty floodplain of lots of kudzu and privet. Twenty years and lots of volunteer hours later, the GNPS- and Birds Georgia-certified wildlife habitat boasts a Pawpaw grove along with other native trees including Chestnut Oak, Black Cherry, and Bigleaf Magnolia; groundcovers like Christmas Ferns, Cherokee Sedge, and Mayapples; and a wren’s nest playhouse woven from the branches of invasive species. |
| Inspired? Buy native plants & seeds from Cottage Garden Natives, Wood’s Native Nursery, and Botany Yards on the day of the tour at a pop-up sale at Walter’s Woods, or visit Beech Hollow Farm nearby.
Please come out and enjoy! Intown Atlanta Garden Tour Committee |
