Pre-Conference Tours
FULL-DAY TOURS
Athens: Horticultural Extravaganza
Tour Confirmation
Time: 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Location: Omni Hotel at CNN Center
Fee: $75, includes lunch
Visit nearby Athens, Georgia, for a taste of the variety horticulture has to offer. Begin the day with a tour of Vince Dooley's private garden. The famous former coach of the University of Georgia football team has created a beautiful garden filled with outstanding and unusual plants. The second stop is a thorough tour of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia - a chance to visit with colleagues and tour some of their new facilities. Finish the day with a tour of Plant Introductions, Inc. - horticultural guru Dr.Mike Dirr's plant-breeding and plant-introduction venture.
Private Gardens of Atlanta: A Tour of Three of Atlanta's Most Diverse, Beautiful Private Retreats
Tour Confirmation
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: Omni Hotel at CNN Center
Fee: $75, includes lunch
Atlanta is known for its outstanding and unique private gardens - from large estates in Buckhead to small urban residences in Midtown. Enjoy this personalized tour of three very diverse gardens - the estate of businessman John Williams, the Asian influenced garden of nationally known plant collector Ozzie Johnson, and the intimate in town retreat of Kay Kramer and Frank Cohen.
Wild Georgia: Tallulah Gorge and Panther Creek
Tour Confirmation
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 5:45 p.m.
Location: Omni Hotel at CNN Center
Fee: $75, includes lunch
Enjoy some of north Georgia's most unique natural areas with a visit to Tallulah Gorge and Panther Creek. Led by a member of Atlanta Botanical Garden's conservation team, this tour explores the dramatic gorge created by the Tallulah River - one of the deepest in the eastern United States. A hike through the Panther Creek Recreation Area provides a tranquil counterpoint to the drama of Tallulah Gorge. Rocky bluffs of mosses and ferns surround a series of cascades and falls. Mature trees are carpeted below with masses of wildflowers, and the native rhododendron will be in full glory in June. Participants will experience some moderate to strenuous hiking during the two stops. Plan to wear hiking boots, hat, and sunscreen.
HALF-DAY TOURS
The Greening of Atlanta: The Beltline and Trees Atlanta
Tour Confirmation
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Location: Omni Hotel at CNN Center
Fee: $40, includes refreshments
This tour will feature several notable public landscapes under the supervision of Trees Atlanta. Included on the tour will be the In man Park Arboretum, part of Trees Atlanta's Neighbor Woods program and only a short bus ride from the conference hotel, as well as the LEED certified headquarters building of Trees Atlanta. The tour will end with a trip to view the completed sections of the Beltline Arboretum project, part of a cutting-edge public works project which seeks to transform the city center by repurposing an old industrial perimeter rail line into a system of linked public transportation, trails, and green spaces. Tour includes walking urban areas. Participants should plan to wear sturdy shoes, a hat, and sunscreen.
Artful Gardens of Atlanta
Tour Confirmation
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.
Location: Omni Hotel at CNN Center
Fee: $40, includes refreshments
Atlanta's art community is thriving. From the High Museum of Art to unique small galleries - the art lover can find it all. This tour features three beautiful and artful private gardens that focus on natural beauty, design, and art. The first stop on the tour is the spectacular sculpture garden of Bert Russo and Deborah Levy, featuring Chihuly, Otterness and more. The second and third gardens on the tour are actually next door to each other in the historic Virginia-Highland neighborhood- and are on one of the last cobblestone streets left in Atlanta.
Historic Gardens of Atlanta
Tour Confirmation
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Location: Omni Hotel at CNN Center
Fee: $40, includes refreshments
This tour features two of Atlanta's most historic public landscapes, Oakland Cemetery and the gardens of the Atlanta History Center. Oakland Cemetery is the burial site of many of Atlanta's most famous politicians, religious leaders, writers, and military leaders. It is a beautiful landscape of mature trees and restored features. The gardens of the Atlanta History Center offer a glimpse of the past in the Tullie Smith Farm Gardens, maintained as an 1860s homestead. Other gardens on this curator-led garden tour will include a three-acre native garden in an old quarry and the formal Swan House Garden.
Canoeing the Chattahoochee River
Tour Confirmation
Time: 7:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Location: Omni Hotel at CNN Center
Fee: $65, includes refreshments
The Chattahoochee River begins just one hundred meters south of Chattahoochee Gap on the Appalachian Trail as a small spring and is quickly fed by numerous creeks to swell to a river north of Atlanta. It traverses the Piedmont province of Georgia, enters the coastal plain, and finally enters the Gulf of Mexico at Apalachicola, Florida. The Chattahoochee River is truly an oasis of nature nestled in a large metropolitan city. Enjoy a naturalist-led canoe trip on part of the River, and see a quiet and peaceful side of Atlanta. Participants will enjoy an easy canoe trip, suitable for beginning canoeists. Wear comfortable clothes, hat, and sunscreen.
FULL-DAY TOURS
Athens: Horticultural Extravaganza
Tour Confirmation
Time: 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Location: Omni Hotel at CNN Center
Fee: $75, includes lunch
Visit nearby Athens, Georgia, for a taste of the variety horticulture has to offer. Begin the day with a tour of Vince Dooley's private garden. The famous former coach of the University of Georgia football team has created a beautiful garden filled with outstanding and unusual plants. The second stop is a thorough tour of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia - a chance to visit with colleagues and tour some of their new facilities. Finish the day with a tour of Plant Introductions, Inc. - horticultural guru Dr.Mike Dirr's plant-breeding and plant-introduction venture.
Private Gardens of Atlanta: A Tour of Three of Atlanta's Most Diverse, Beautiful Private Retreats
Tour Confirmation
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: Omni Hotel at CNN Center
Fee: $75, includes lunch
Atlanta is known for its outstanding and unique private gardens - from large estates in Buckhead to small urban residences in Midtown. Enjoy this personalized tour of three very diverse gardens - the estate of businessman John Williams, the Asian influenced garden of nationally known plant collector Ozzie Johnson, and the intimate in town retreat of Kay Kramer and Frank Cohen.
Wild Georgia: Tallulah Gorge and Panther Creek
Tour Confirmation
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 5:45 p.m.
Location: Omni Hotel at CNN Center
Fee: $75, includes lunch
Enjoy some of north Georgia's most unique natural areas with a visit to Tallulah Gorge and Panther Creek. Led by a member of Atlanta Botanical Garden's conservation team, this tour explores the dramatic gorge created by the Tallulah River - one of the deepest in the eastern United States. A hike through the Panther Creek Recreation Area provides a tranquil counterpoint to the drama of Tallulah Gorge. Rocky bluffs of mosses and ferns surround a series of cascades and falls. Mature trees are carpeted below with masses of wildflowers, and the native rhododendron will be in full glory in June. Participants will experience some moderate to strenuous hiking during the two stops. Plan to wear hiking boots, hat, and sunscreen.
HALF-DAY TOURS
The Greening of Atlanta: The Beltline and Trees Atlanta
Tour Confirmation
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Location: Omni Hotel at CNN Center
Fee: $40, includes refreshments
This tour will feature several notable public landscapes under the supervision of Trees Atlanta. Included on the tour will be the In man Park Arboretum, part of Trees Atlanta's Neighbor Woods program and only a short bus ride from the conference hotel, as well as the LEED certified headquarters building of Trees Atlanta. The tour will end with a trip to view the completed sections of the Beltline Arboretum project, part of a cutting-edge public works project which seeks to transform the city center by repurposing an old industrial perimeter rail line into a system of linked public transportation, trails, and green spaces. Tour includes walking urban areas. Participants should plan to wear sturdy shoes, a hat, and sunscreen.
Artful Gardens of Atlanta
Tour Confirmation
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.
Location: Omni Hotel at CNN Center
Fee: $40, includes refreshments
Atlanta's art community is thriving. From the High Museum of Art to unique small galleries - the art lover can find it all. This tour features three beautiful and artful private gardens that focus on natural beauty, design, and art. The first stop on the tour is the spectacular sculpture garden of Bert Russo and Deborah Levy, featuring Chihuly, Otterness and more. The second and third gardens on the tour are actually next door to each other in the historic Virginia-Highland neighborhood- and are on one of the last cobblestone streets left in Atlanta.
Historic Gardens of Atlanta
Tour Confirmation
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Location: Omni Hotel at CNN Center
Fee: $40, includes refreshments
This tour features two of Atlanta's most historic public landscapes, Oakland Cemetery and the gardens of the Atlanta History Center. Oakland Cemetery is the burial site of many of Atlanta's most famous politicians, religious leaders, writers, and military leaders. It is a beautiful landscape of mature trees and restored features. The gardens of the Atlanta History Center offer a glimpse of the past in the Tullie Smith Farm Gardens, maintained as an 1860s homestead. Other gardens on this curator-led garden tour will include a three-acre native garden in an old quarry and the formal Swan House Garden.
Canoeing the Chattahoochee River
Tour Confirmation
Time: 7:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Location: Omni Hotel at CNN Center
Fee: $65, includes refreshments
The Chattahoochee River begins just one hundred meters south of Chattahoochee Gap on the Appalachian Trail as a small spring and is quickly fed by numerous creeks to swell to a river north of Atlanta. It traverses the Piedmont province of Georgia, enters the coastal plain, and finally enters the Gulf of Mexico at Apalachicola, Florida. The Chattahoochee River is truly an oasis of nature nestled in a large metropolitan city. Enjoy a naturalist-led canoe trip on part of the River, and see a quiet and peaceful side of Atlanta. Participants will enjoy an easy canoe trip, suitable for beginning canoeists. Wear comfortable clothes, hat, and sunscreen.
