Travis Fisher

As the days shorten and temperatures drop in autumn, plants begin a series of physiological processes to prepare for the cold. Plants are generally about the same temperature as the surrounding air, so to deal with cold they must employ alternative methods.

Although in the heart of a busy urban neighborhood, the Goizueta Gardens are host to many species of native wildlife including six species of salamanders.

A short walk around the woods on the History Center grounds will reveal many large loblolly pines with their tops above the surrounding deciduous trees. These pines reveal that the land preserved within Goizueta Gardens began to reforest shortly after the end of the American Civil War, between 1862 and 1872. The forest that covers much of the campus today is the forest that began to grow at that time.

The diverse botanical landscapes and healthy forests of the Goizueta Gardens are perfect for producing insects and caterpillars and are perfect for summer birds. These are just a few of the birds that are found here in spring and summertime; take a moment in the gardens and you may hear or see them yourself.

As February rolls into March, the weather begins to warm and the first of the new year’s spring wildflowers begin to push their fresh growth through last autumn’s leaves. In our Goizueta Gardens, southeastern native plants are a central part of our living collections—spring ephemerals included. They are making their spectacular appearance now, and a few are highlighted here.

Many North American bird species migrate to the Caribbean or Central and South America for the winter, but several species do not travel as far, choosing instead to winter in the relatively mild climate of the American Southeast. Let us introduce you to a few of these Georgia winter residents, all recently spotted in Goizueta Gardens.

This tree that was so much a part of the American landscape for an estimated 40 million years, was made functionally extinct in forty.