American Hydrangea Society Meets in Atlanta

Founded by Penny McHenry in 1994 the American Hydrangea Society has become a place to enhance your knowledge about hydrangea through garden tours and lectures. This week Jamie Blackburn, Curator of the Woodland Gardens at the Atlanta Botanical Garden spoke to the group. He provided a clear picture of where the ABG is with hydrangea and where the garden is headed. His presentation was polished.

There is a section of the ABG in honor of Penny McHenry. There are also plans in the expansion of the gardens for more hydrangea, which have already been planted. Blackburn's long term goal is to apply to American Public Gardens Association to recognize the hydrangea collection in Atlanta.

Here is a list of named collections by the APGA:  http://www.publicgardens.org/content/napcc-collections-institution. This is quite a resource if you are particularly interested in a plant. To-date Blackburn believes the ABG has 13-14 species and 350 taxa of hydgranea. Currently the ABG is recognized for its maples and pitcher plant collections. Presently the only hydangea garden recognized is the Norfolk Botanical Garden with 190 taxa.

At the end of this meeting many hydrangea and other plants were raffled off.  Here is one of my images taken on this year's American Hydrangea Society Tour. This image was juried into the Women In Focus annual show by Brett Abbot. Available on Etsy.



Twist N Shout