Atlanta Botanical Garden

To begin, frankly, we weren't even supposed to be here. This outing began as plans to see an Atlanta United FC game. However, despite organizing more than a month in advance, it got down to the wire and the seats we needed together suddenly became unavailable (which is fair, considering we needed 12 of them).

But we were not deterred. After I broke the news to the group, we quickly pivoted to an alternate idea for a day out: the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. It wasn't a hard switch at all. Some of us enjoy sports, but the thought of piling a dozen people into a crowded venue, and then having to navigate the overwhelming traffic outside of Mercedes Benz Stadium, was more than enough reason to breathe a sigh of relief over canceled plans. The gardens were also cheaper, so not a tear was shed.

Before we start, I'd like to share some helpful resources with you. Here is a map of the gardens and locations mentioned below. Additionally, if you see some flora you can't identify, refer to the Seasonal Displays page of the Atlanta Botanical Garden website for more information!

From May 15 - October 31, the gardens are showcasing a massive exhibit called SUPERnatural featuring a colossal, intricate array of aerial art that flows hypnotically in the breeze. Pictured above is Dream Flora by artist Patrick Shearn of Poetic Kinetics, a structure covering about a third of the garden over Storza Woods.

Also featured in this exhibit, as shown in the image above, is Glass Art in Bloom by Jason Gamrath.

I'd like to take a quick break in the action to illustrate how my friend, Lorenzo, and I perceived this social outing. Creatives by trade, every day is an opportunity for us to make something beautiful. Allow me to illustrate that philosophy with some of our favorite shots of our friends acting like they know how beautiful they really are.

It took some coaxing, but a little bit of laughter was all they needed to get comfortable.

The star of the garden is easily Earth Goddess, created by Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal during the 2013-2014 Imaginary Worlds exhibition. She is adorned with 18,000 flowers and plants that must be grown and cared for annually. An Atlanta icon, we couldn't NOT take advantage of this obvious, picturesque opportunity.

We found a gorgeous metallic butterfly near the Trustees Garden (on the wall of a restroom, no less). I couldn't find any information on the artist or patron for this work, but I did learn that the Atlanta Botanical Garden is "partnering with the Butterfly Conservation Initiative and the Greater Atlanta Pollinator Partnership to address native pollinator conservation." For more information on what that means exactly, find their website here.

Our final stop was the Skyline Garden. Here, we took some lovely photos of and with some large, flowery structures housed in the Aquatic Plant Pond. Can you tell what type of flowers these are? If you're having trouble, don't forget to consult the garden's helpful guide on flora!

After a few hours of walking around in the sun, we definitely wanted some refreshments. We made our way to Ponce City Market for an early dinner together. That blog is coming later (hopefully) 😊!

View the full gallery here.

Thank you for reading!