Botanica Atlanta - Landscape Design, Construction & Maintenance

The Atlanta History Center is on West Paces Ferry Road, and is the home to several entities.  Besides the main building, there is the Swan House (a house museum), and the Kenan Research Library.

For gardeners, the Swan House has several acres of formal gardens, which were originally planted in the 1920's.  They were photographed and described in the 1933 edition of The Garden History of Georgia: 1733-1933, and said to have contained pleached trees and boxwood terraces. The gardens are currently undergoing some renovation (as of Oct '08), but are due to reopen soon.

The other site for gardeners is the Cherokee Garden Library housed within the Kenan Research Center. The Cherokee Garden Library is a world class depository of books and documents that trace the history of Southern gardens and gardeners. As their website states: "With more than 20,000 books, photographs, manuscripts, seed catalogs, and landscape drawings, the Cherokee Garden Library preserves significant works in horticulture and botanical history."

There are three main collections in the library: The Elisabeth Woodburn Collection, The Virginia Hand Callaway Collection, and the Elizabeth Lawrence Collection. Together these three collections contain volumes dated from 1586 through the 20th century.  The library is an essential starting point for anyone who is interested in restoring old gardens or researching old seed catalogues, as well as those who enjoy learning about which roses were being grown at the start of the 20th century.

Access to the library is free and it is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Please call 404-814-4046 for more information.

          The entrance to the Swan House Garden Area