Georgia Magazine - May 2018 - 40

GIBBS GARDENS

Rose Lawn Museum, 224 W. Cherokee Ave., Cartersville.
roselawnmuseum.com. (770) 387-5162.
Mauldin House and Garden, 458 Jefferson St., Clarkesville.
clarkesvillega.com/walking-tour.cfm. (706) 754-2220.
Hart County Botanical Garden, 1277 Elberton Hwy., Hartwell.
hartcogardens.org. (706) 436-1557.
Barnsley Resort, 597 Barnsley Gardens Road, Adairsville.
barnsleyresort.com. (770) 773-7480.
Gibbs Gardens, 1987 Gibbs Drive., Ball Ground.
gibbsgardens.com. (770) 893-1881.
Operating hours and admission costs vary by location.
Information about all 26 gardens on the trail is available at
exploregeorgia.org/itineraries/north-georgia-garden-trail.

GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

When you go

Above left: Millions of yellow daffodils greet guests at Gibbs Gardens in Ball Ground from early March through April.
Above right: An exact replica of the Japanese bridge in Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France, is a showpiece at
Gibbs Gardens.

a house your grandparents might
have lived in, although it doesn't have
an interior," says Luanne Burgess,
president of the Hart County Botanical Garden.
The garden offers classes, workshops, plant sales and venues for
events. "There's something here for
everyone, all ages," Burgess says. "We
welcome visitors to come and see
how this area has been beautifully
and thoughtfully transformed."

Barnsley Resort
One of Georgia's most historic
gardens is located at Barnsley Resort
in Adairsville. Built by Englishman
Godfrey Barnsley for his wife, Julia,
in the 1840s, the estate included an
Italianate villa and grounds designed
by Andrew Jackson Downing, a renowned architect and landscape designer. Barnsley's wife died before
the home was completed, but their
descendants lived there until the early 1940s.
The house sat dormant until
1988, when a Bavarian prince pur40

chased the property and planted
more than 20 varieties of roses, many
near the remains of the manor house.
He opened the property to day visitors in 1991 and as a resort in 1999.
"Prince Hubertus Fugger painstakingly re-established the plantings
that were lost over the years, using
the meticulous records kept by Godfrey Barnsley as a guide," says Jennifer Ball, director of operations. "The
setting is pastoral and natural, and
much of the grounds are woodlands.
There are strolling gardens with formal plantings and parterres, plus
four-season color and many native
plants. You get a sense of a private
estate garden when you visit here."

Gibbs Gardens
Landscape designer Jim Gibbs,
founder of Gibbs Landscape Co.,
visited many of the globe's worldclass gardens before creating Gibbs
Gardens in Ball Ground. He purchased the acreage in North Georgia
in 1985 because of its rolling terrain
and abundance of springs and
More online at www.georgiamagazine.org

natural water sources.
"I started developing the gardens
right afterwards, carefully choosing
how the gardens would flow and
how we could create four seasons of
color and interest," Gibbs says. "If
people came here every three weeks,
they'd see how the garden changes
and have a new experience each
time."
From early March through midApril, more than 20 million daffodils
planted in graceful swaths greet
guests even before they enter the
220-acre gardens. Cherry blossoms
fill the 40-acre Japanese garden and
give way to azaleas and rhododendron as the weather warms.
"We have 16 garden venues that
showcase roses, hydrangeas, daylilies, crape myrtles, annuals and perennials," Gibbs says. "From our everchanging color-fests to concerts and
festivals, there's always something
new and interesting to see here."
Pamela A. Keene is a freelance
writer and gardening enthusiast living in Flowery Branch.
GEORGIA MAGAZINE

http://www.roselawnmuseum.com http://www.clarkesvillega.com/walking-tour.cfm http://www.hartcogardens.org http://www.barnsleyresort.com http://www.gibbsgardens.com http://www.exploregeorgia.org/itineraries/north-georgia-garden-trail http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - May 2018