Georgia Hosta Society to Host Dixie Regional Meeting in June 2009
Mark your calendar now for June 5 and 6, 2009, when the Georgia Hosta Society will welcome the Dixie Region’s annual meeting. For the first time, Atlanta will be the host of a spring event. Historically, we’ve had fall meetings, but we wanted to share our beautiful spring displays. School will be out and the weather will still be moderate and the hosta will be at their peak.
The events will be held in the Cobb County area, north west of Atlanta just off Interstate 75. Most folks won’t even have to drive in to Atlanta to get here!
The Hilton Atlanta / Marietta Conference Center will be our headquarters and the site of our fabulous Friday night auction, Saturday afternoon’s seminars and Saturday evening banquet. On Saturday morning, we will board buses for a short trek to Kennesaw for a pleasant morning in the Smith-Gilbert Arboretum. For a sneak preview of the hotel, visit: www.atlantamarietta.hilton.com and of Smith-Gilbert Arboretum, go to: http://www.kennesaw.ga.us/index.asp?NID=302.
Smith-Gilbert Arboretum is a 13-acre facility, owned by the City of Kennesaw, and home to hundreds of varieties of trees, shrubs and perennials. SGA boasts an impressive collection of contemporary sculpture by nationally famous artists. Featured plant collections include a sunny cedar meadow, a rose garden, a dwarf conifer garden, rock garden, water fall and garden, and of course hostas. The focal point of the gardens is the fully-restored 1840’s era plantation home, which will be open for tours to DRHS. Docents will conduct guided tours of the garden and home in small groups.
The Atlanta/Marietta Hilton Conference Center was built in anticipation the 1996 Atlanta Centennial Oympics. The 132-acre hotel grounds include another historic home, Brumby Hall and Garden, just a short walk away. Traditional Brumby rockers are made in Marietta. Try one on for size on the back veranda with it’s view of the beautiful City Club Golf Course, a full 18-hole course. The hotel offers complimentary transportation to nearby museums, restaurants and shopping.
There are lots of local attractions and activities to keep your non-hosta companions busy. Picturesque Marietta Square, near-by, has restaurants, galleries, shopping and historic sites that will be of interest to all. Confederate history sites abound in the area. The Confederate Cemetery, Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield and the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History are all near by. Six Flags over Georgia, and Whitewater Park are also located in Cobb County. So there’s no lack of interesting things to keep spouses and kids occupied.
It’s no accident that we chose the Marietta/Kennesaw area, which is so rich in Southern heritage. All in the Species will be our theme and our seminar topics will focus on the importance of knowing the heritage of the hostas that we select for our gardens. Our speakers, nationally-recognized hosta experts, will take a roots-up approach: start with the species that do well in the south, then choose your hostas from their offspring and progeny. Hosta success is all in the species!
On Sunday morning, we will have drive-yourself garden tours of some of the prettiest gardens in Cobb County before heading home.
Return to this site frequently, as plans are developing for a great weekend of hosta fun, facts and fellowship. We hope you will plan to attend. For More Information go the website at http://www.dixiehosta.net