Botanica Atlanta | Landscape Design-Build-Maintain

A love of nature and hiking led to my passion for gardening. It is really impossible to match God’s natural creation for stunning beauty, but in the wild you can get powerful inspiration for your own outside space. While living in San Diego, I was captivated by the landscape of the West - towering mountain vistas, the sparkling allure of the coast and the haunting beauty of the deserts. Returning home to Georgia I soon discovered many amazing natural places where you can find beauty, solitude, serenity and ideas for your own garden.

Charles Seabrook, who writes the column, Wild Georgia, for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, recently described his trip to see the wildflowers at The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain.  The Pocket is one of Seabrook’s “35 natural wonders of Georgia you must see before you die!” In this hidden cove in the northwest corner of Georgia, you will find a treasure trove of rare and unusual plants that are found in a small target area around Pigeon Mountain, a spur of Lookout mountain.

The Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail is a protected part of The Pocket within the Crockford-Pigeon Mountain Wildlife Management Area that is maintained by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The trail is really an 800-foot boardwalk above the wildflowers, so visitors can enjoy the plants but not trample on them and destroy the sensitive habitat. What is so wonderful about the boardwalk is that it is wheel-chair accessible, allowing those with physical challenges to enjoy this natural space.  Here are a few of the colorful wildflowers I spotted along the way…

Beyond the boardwalk is a winding rock-strewn trail along the creek that leads to some gorgeous waterfalls.  Here you will see the limestone cliffs that leach calcium into the cove to produce the pH neutral bottomland soil that is so conducive to the growth of the many unusual wildflowers. On this portion of the trail I really appreciated the moss and lichen-covered boulders and the woodland ferns, with wildflowers adding a haphazard spot of color. At the falls, children and adults enjoyed wading along the rocks and rock climbers were rappelling down the cliffs.

The wildflowers along the Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail will vanish by the end of April, so you have just enough time to make a quick trip to the cove to see the color show! To get to the site, take Hwy 193 North from LaFayette to the intersection of Davis Crossroads where you will see the Pigeon Mountain Country Store. Here you can stop for a bite to eat and also purchase the definitive guidebook on wildflowers in the area - Wildflowers of Pigeon Mountain by Jay Clark.  Turn left on Hog Jowl Rd. and go about three miles and at the top of the hill turn left on Pocket Road.  Drive carefully on this road for about a mile, crossing a small creek to come to the parking lot near the trail.

After you get inspired by the wildflowers of Pigeon Mountain, why not consider adding some of the more common wildflowers that flourish in Georgia in your own garden design?