0011 | Friends First Friday
Join us each month at the State Botanical Garden for a unique educational opportunity! Every Friends First Friday features a guest lecturer who brings expert knowledge on all things garden and plant related. Friends First Friday is sponsored by the Friends of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia.
October 3 - Breeding Plants for a Crowded Market – David Roberts
David Roberts has a deep love for plant breeding and propagation and hopes to inspire gardeners with exciting new plants that are unique and easy to care for. David acquired his master’s degree in horticultural science from North Carolina State University (Dec 2015) with a concentration in ornamental plant breeding. David worked as a graduate student for Dr. Dennis Werner and Dr. Tom Ranney, where he developed a passion for horticultural science.
Bailey Nurseries, Inc. hired David in 2015 to act as the general manager and head plant breeder for Bailey Innovations. David now serves as the Director of Plant Breeding at Bailey Innovations, where he leads the breeding team and coordinates plant trials from their nursery located in Winterville, GA.
Please join David as he discusses the philosophy, strategy and objectives for various plant breeding projects at Bailey Innovations.
November 7 – Floral Designs for the Holidays – Carol Dyer McKeen
Please join Carol Dyer McKeen as we explore the beauty of seasonal flowers and nature elements to design a simple floral arrangement for fall and winter holidays.
Carol will provide foraged flowers, greenery, and other natural add-on’s to guide you through the basic process of building a floral design. You will leave with your own floral design and hopefully the confidence to design your own arrangements at home!
Carol is the curator for the Tropical Conservatory and the Herb and Physic gardens. She has done floral designs for over 20 years. She learned floral design from the late C.L. Morehead of Flower’s Inc. Retail and did floral design with retired Herb Garden curator, Pam Butts, at her nursery Charmar.
December 5– Tulips in December – Jim Moneyhun
December may seem like an odd time to talk tulips, but it is the perfect time to plant bulbs that will flower next Spring. Jim Moneyhun will provide a brief history of tulips, including the Ottoman Empire’s fascination with the flower and the seventeenth century Dutch Tulip Mania. He will also suggest tulip species and hybrids most likely to return year after year and discuss practices for planting and protecting tulips from herbivory.
Jim is curator of the Flower Garden and a horticulturist at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. The Flower Garden extends from the Heritage Garden to the Day Chapel and down the tiered lawns which host the Sunflower concert series. He and his team, consisting of two part-time staff and 10 regular volunteers, maintain the Flower Garden. He also supervises countless UGA student-volunteers through the Learning-by-Leading program. In the Fall of 2024, the Flower Garden team planted 8,900 tulip bulbs and 5,100 other spring-blooming bulbs. Prior to joining the State Botanical Garden, Jim worked for 20 years in the public sector, writing local, comprehensive plans and administering state and federal grants.