State Botanical Garden

GNPS is a partner organization with the State Botanical Garden’s Georgia Native Plant Initiative.

The Georgia Native Plant Ini­tia­tive (GNPI) is a net­work­ing pro­gram for pro­mot­ing the use of Georgia native plants in all kinds of gar­den­ing. This col­lab­o­ra­tion between grow­ers, land­s­ca­pers, land and road­side man­agers, plant soci­eties, Garden clubs and Georgia gar­den­ers seeks to trans­form gar­dens, road­sides and land­s­capes across Georgia by show­cas­ing the hor­ti­cul­tu­ral appeal and eco­log­i­cal value of our native flora. Through edu­ca­tion and public­ity pro­jects, the GNPI links grow­ers with gar­den­ers, pro­mot­ing the incor­po­ra­tion of natives into all types of gar­dens. The GNPI also links grow­ers to state and fed­eral agen­cies involved in habi­tat res­to­ra­tion efforts and road­side man­age­ment. Util­ity com­pa­nies like Georgia Power are also con­nected, and the GNPI rec­om­mends appro­pri­ate spe­cies, pro­duc­tion pro­to­cols and land res­to­ra­tion tech­niques for man­ag­ing power-line right-of-ways. Retail nurseries that pro­duce high qual­ity native plants accord­ing to eth­i­cal guide­lines get spe­cial pro­mo­tion from the GNPI, and pro­jects where native plants have been suc­cess­fully incor­po­rated are show­cased, be they home gar­dens, road­side plant­ings, agri­cul­tu­ral sett­ings, com­mer­cial land­s­cap­ing or habi­tat res­to­ra­tions. It is time for all of us to “Get rooted in Georgia!”

GNPS has also gifted monies to the State Botanical Garden to increase the ability of the Center Native Plant Studies to build expertise in collecting and propagating regional native plant material for roadsides, power line right-of-ways, restoration, and home use.

The Center occupies a seven-acre site on the SBG grounds, adjacent to a floodplain forest that is being actively restored to enhance plant and wildlife diversity. The Center is the headquarters for their native plant research and propagation activities as well as endangered plant safeguarding. In the future it will also include native plant display gardens for public visitors.

In 2012, the GNPS Board was pleased to be able to support new efforts to bring native plants into the nursery trade for projects large and small. A gift from GNPS will be used to provide funding to build raised beds, convert a hoop house, and support a fall internship. Total funding: $8,617.