The Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta's living museum, is an oasis of beauty and tranquility in the heart of Midtown. Incorporated in 1976, it features 15 acres of landscaped gardens, a state-of-the-art conservatory and a 15-acre hardwood forest with walking trails.Transforming the garden from dream to reality was the handiwork of a small core of eager volunteers (the first in a long line of spirited volunteers who remain at the foundation of the Garden) and a skeleton staff which operated out of a trailer. The trailer also housed a Vistors' Center and, later, a Museum Shop.
The ABG is a private, non-profit organization supported primarily by its 10,000 members and by corporate and individual donations. The facility is directed by a Board of Trustees and maintained by a staff of over 50 and several hundred volunteers.
The Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory, houses over 7,000 rare and endangered tropical and desert plants from around the world. Rare island palms, orchids, epiphytes, and Old World succulents such as Lithops, the "living stones", are some of the collections on display. The mist-filled tropical house includes colorful birds flying free, and a terrarium in the lobby holds brilliant poison-arrow frogs.
