What: Native plants raised at the University of Georgia State Botanical Garden of Georgia to be installed at public parks in Macon.
When: Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 11 a.m.
Where: Rose Hill Cemetery, 1071 Riverside Drive.
Who: Macon native Stephen Reichert, State Botanical Garden of Georgia board of advisors chairman, will be joined by Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert, Macon-Bibb Parks and Beautification Director Stephen Lawson and representatives from the garden for the first of three plantings in Macon parks.
Background: The plants for Macon were selected to provide nectar and pollen for pollinators throughout the growing season. Plants include brown-eyed Susan, purple coneflower, butterflyweed and asters. Macon is the first Georgia city to partner with the State Botanical Garden to incorporate native plants into the city’s landscape.
The State Botanical Garden of Georgia, a unit of the Office of Public Service and Outreach at UGA, began its plant conservation program in 1995, focusing on rare plant conservation. In 2011, garden staff began habitat restoration at the botanical garden. Also that year the Mimsie Lanier Center for Native Plant Studies was launched and the plant conservation program widened its focus to the study and promotion of all native plants and their habitats, not just rare plants.
The Mimsie Lanier Center for Native Plant Studies was made possible by a gift from the husband of Mimsie Lanier, former president of the garden’s board of advisors, who led the effort to raise money for the salary of a conservation coordinator that would work with the director of research to launch the State Botanical Garden Plant Conservation Program.