Using grant money from the GMGA Project Funding program the members of the North Buckhead Civic Association along with Master Gardener Kim McCauley designed and installed a Woodland Trail in North Buckhead’s signature pocket park. The park located at Wieuca Road and Phipps Blvd behind Phipps Plaza in Buckhead has been maintained by the Neighborhood Association over the past 5 years. The Park is a traditional one ringed in Allée elms, a Serviceberry-lined gravel path leading to a pair of park benches, Kwanzan Cherry trees and an annual flower bed anchored in Loropetalum, Tea Olive and Knockout Roses.
A shaded side of the park proved to be an excellent spot for demonstrating a garden using native plants along a woodland trail. Scheduled neighborhood spring and fall park workdays were used to lay the stone path and prepare the beds using volunteers from the neighborhood. Native perennials including Woodland Phlox, Celandine Poppy, Spiderwort, Trout Lily, May Apple, Cinnamon Fern, Christmas Fern and Sedum were planted along the trail. Additional plants obtained from a nearby Native Plant Society plant rescue were added early this spring including May Apple, Trillium, Ginger, and Aster. Each plant was labeled along the trail.
For her Girl Scout Silver Award project, Sarah McCauley created a
Woodland Native Plant guide containing illustrated information about each plant along the trail. The guide was compiled into a laminated booklet placed on a handmade cedar podium at the entrance to the trail. Visitors could look at the guide to give them practical information about how to use native plants in their own gardens.
As part of the community outreach and education, Kim McCauley published an article in the neighborhood association’s quarterly newsletter reaching over 2500 households:
Spring and fall neighborhood park workdays will be used to maintain the trail and add to the collection of native plants. Please stop by and have a look next time you’re in the neighborhood.
A shaded side of the park proved to be an excellent spot for demonstrating a garden using native plants along a woodland trail. Scheduled neighborhood spring and fall park workdays were used to lay the stone path and prepare the beds using volunteers from the neighborhood. Native perennials including Woodland Phlox, Celandine Poppy, Spiderwort, Trout Lily, May Apple, Cinnamon Fern, Christmas Fern and Sedum were planted along the trail. Additional plants obtained from a nearby Native Plant Society plant rescue were added early this spring including May Apple, Trillium, Ginger, and Aster. Each plant was labeled along the trail.
