Botanical Garden Hike & Talk featuring Wildflowers of Stone Mountain

IN A NUTSHELL:  The weather is expected to be beautiful this Friday, so please join us at the GA Perimeter College Native Plant Botanical Garden for this delightful free 3-hour event.  This week's  "walk & talk" will focus on the fascinating Native Wildflowers and Plants of Stone Mountain.
  On Fridays each fall and spring the "GPC Decatur Campus" sponsors these free "Open House" events led by expert naturalists in their amazing garden on Atlanta's east side. On display are more than 4000 different species of beautiful trees, wildflowers, shrubs, vines, ferns and other fascinating plants.  Their "Ferns of the World" exhibit is said to have more different species of ferns than any other garden in the United States!

EVENT DETAILS:  Our Atlanta Outdoor Club "subgroup" will gather at 10:00 AM at the garden entrance - see detailed directions & GPS info below.  After introducing one another we'll walk in together and first explore the greenhouse area where a variety of potted native plants are offered for sale to garden guests at reasonable prices.
  At 10:30 AM we'll join renowned nature photographer and environmentalist Larry Winslett - first for a leisurely guided walk through the garden entitled "Tips & Tricks for Better Flower Photography" - then for a sit-down presentation entitled "The Plant Life of Stone Mountain."
  Mr. Winslett specializes in the wildflowers of the Southeast and is esp. well known for his photography and knowledge of the native plants of Stone Mtn, Panola Mtn and Arabia Mtn in east metro Atlanta.  Larry and his wife Julie have published photo books about the wildflowers of Stone Mountain and the unique ecosystems of such ancient granite outcrops.  Their gorgeous annotated photos are on display at Stone Mtn Park at stops along the trails, in the museums, etc.  For more about the Winsletts and their fascinating work check out their excellent website: http://larrywinslett.com/index.htm
  Bring a picnic lunch if you like, and we can enjoy our lunches and share extra items both before and during Larry's Stone Mountain talk.

FOR MORE ABOUT the GPC GARDEN:  Click on the following handy link for a schedule of all of GPC's nice "Friday Open House" walks & talks in the botanical garden this fall which continue thru Nov 1st.  You can also click "Home" (at the base of that page) to access their other beautiful GPC garden webpages and photos.
http://gpcnativegarden.org/sales13fall.html

DIRECTIONS from I-285/ I-85 "SPAGHETTI JCN" INTERCHANGE in NE METRO ATLANTA:
1. From the I-285/ I-85 Interchange (near Doraville) take I-285 southward about 15 miles and get off at the Flat Shoals Rd exit (I-285 exit #48 which is 2 mi south of the big I-285/ I-20 interchange).
2. Turn Right onto Flat Shoals Road and go just 0.2 mile (northwestward) to the traffic light at Panthersville Rd.
3. Turn Left onto Panthersville Rd and continue straight ahead for about 1 mile (southward). After passing through the traffic light at Clifton Springs Rd get in the rightmost lane of traffic.
4. Just before this rightmost lane ends, look for a small "..Botanical Garden" sign and turn Right (westward) into the large parking lot.
5. Park and meet others in our AOC "subgroup" at 10:00 AM in the far side of the parking lot near the garden entrance path.

For a zoomable map or satellite view of our meetup spot near the garden entrance click on the rectangular blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.

You GPS Users may wish to augment the above directions by entering the following Lat/Lon coordinates of our meetup spot as your destination: 33.68706,-84.27415

The street address & phone number of GPC's "Native Plant Botanical Garden" are:
3251 Panthersville Rd, Decatur, GA    678-891-2668

FREE Event with free Parking and no Garden Entrance Fee!