Science and Horticulture

Learn about native trees, Piedmont forests, landscape history, and the ecology of Southeastern forests.

Explore the Goizueta Gardens led by Atlanta History Center’s Vice President of Goizueta Gardens and Living Collections, Sarah Carter.

Learn about the tribes of the southeast, the Georgia frontier, and the details of historic preservation at the Wood Cabin.

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.

On October 30, 2023, Olguita’s Garden will celebrate its 5th anniversary! This special garden was created in honor of Olga C. de Goizueta. Special thanks to The Goizueta Foundation for their generous support of Atlanta History Center through the years, and specifically for their continued commitment to Goizueta Gardens.

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.

Discover the unique story of the Smith House and the preservation effort that brought it to the Atlanta History Center.

Kenan Research Center collections document a wide range of historical themes and topics about the history of the Atlanta region.

Honeybees battle immense pressure due to diseases, pests, lack of nutritious floral resources, and pesticide exposure (especially mosquito spraying). The Gardens staff bee team has recently rehomed a swarmed colony and expanded the apiary to include 6 thriving hives thanks in large part to donations received during their GivingTuesday 2022 Save the Bees campaign.

Atlanta History Center is excited to partner with Black in the Garden for a special four-part podcast series exploring Gardens and Cultural Landscapes of Black America, the new digital collection from Cherokee Garden Library. Host Colah B Tawkin explains how this partnership came to be.

On December 24, thermometers dipped to 8 degrees Fahrenheit, the coldest temperature seen in our area since 2014. Damages to the gardens in the metro area as a result of this polar plunge are now fully manifesting, and Goizueta Gardens is no exception. All this carnage certainly brings a tear to every gardener’s eye but not everything is dead! Though it may seem that way initially.

Although it may seem there is little to see in a winter garden, Olguita’s Garden will show you otherwise.

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.