While I love visiting the Atlanta Botanical Garden, I now have a new spot to visit and my membership gets me into both. In 2015, the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Gainesville, opened its’ first development phase. I can’t believe its taken me two years to get there.

Gainesville has about six acres of developed gardens of the 168 acres the Smithgall Family donated in 2000. The site includes an amphitheater for concerts, a garden and gift shop, a model train garden,  visitors center overlooking the Forest Pond with water lilies, trail streams and hiking trails, as well as the gardens themselves. Currently the Goblins are in the Garden.

Gainesville Botanical Garden has the potential to be THE gathering place for the Gainesville area, primarily due to the amphitheater, hiking trails and areas open for events and rental, not to mention the lovely gardens themselves.

The Gardens have a full schedule of events for the family this Fall:

Wine in the Woodlands         10/26, 6-9PM

Scarecrows in the Garden      10/4 – 29, 9AM – 6PM 

New! Goblins in the Garden  10/22, 11AM – 4PM

Check their site for classes for adults and children, exhibitions, Woodland parties, musical performances, story tellers, crafts and private rentals.http://gainesvillegarden.org

Location: 1911 Sweetbay Dr.,  Gainesville, GA 30501

After you visit the gardens, enjoy lunch or dinner in the fast growing town of Gainesville itself.  A previous post tells you about Two Dogs restaurant. This past trip we checked out Sweet Magnolias in the Main Street Market. Soups, salads, sandwiches and fresh-squeezed lemonade. Yummy!