25th Annual Cobb Master Gardener Plant Sale and Expo
Celebrate Earth Day and Easter this year with your local Master Gardeners at the 25th Annual Cobb Master Gardener Plant Sale and Expo: April 18 and 19, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at Jim Miller Park’s covered arena. Learn, explore, and shop from over 90 vendors! Plants, gardening supplies, bird and bee products, yard art, crafts, pottery, food, and more will be available. This event is free to the public. Learn more at cobbmastergardeners.com.
22nd Annual Master Gardener Garden Tour
Spend Mothers’ Day Weekend this year with loved ones during the 22nd Annual Master Gardener Garden Tour, scheduled for May 10th from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Explore four fabulous gardens from around Cobb County, all belonging to local Cobb County Master Gardeners. The theme this year will highlight families and children. Tickets will go on sale beginning March 1st, $15 for adults and children under 17 are free. Tour will be held rain or shine! For more information and to purchase tickets, visit cobbmastergardeners.com
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Join us at Fair Oaks at the Marietta Educational Garden Center on Saturday, November 2nd from 10am to 2pm for a day of education and activities, hosted by the Laurel District. This event is a fundraiser for the Garden Club of Georgia’s Historic Landscape Preservation Grant offered for restoration of historic landscapes, public or private.
We have two fabulous speakers and honored guests including Lisa Hall, GCG president. Plus a special guest appearance is expected! Before and after the scheduled program, you are encouraged to stroll the grounds and enjoy the many gardens at Fair Oaks, including the “Georgia’s First Ladies” named Camellias, The Founders Garden, the Gazebo meditation area and many more! ‘Plein Air’ painters will be working outdoors to incorporate the landscape into their creations. There will also be education exhibits, music, garden club merchandise and enchanting raffle baskets. Inside the Civil War era home, there will be docents on hand offering interesting tidbits about the home’s history.
Program speakers include Trevor Beemon, Executive Director of Cobb Landmarks & Historical Society, Inc. and the Chairman of the Acworth Historic Preservation Commission; along with Paul Pugliese, Bartow County Extension Coordinator/ANR Agent.
Tickets are $45 per person, including morning coffee, a boxed lunch (menu selections on form), and must be ordered by October 25th.
Donations accepted. Checks should be payable to “GCG” and sent to Edna McClellan, 180 Pacer Court, #9044, Ellijay, GA 30540-9305. Confirmation is via email. EdnaMae@ellijay.com. The form can be found here: HLP REGS 2024
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Lyn Cohen, at right, discusses possible projects for the East Cobb Park Garden and Nature Club, which was founded in 2023.
This week’s East Cobb On the Spot feature is the East Cobb Park Garden and Nature Club, which was founded last year by the Friends for the East Cobb Park volunteer organization that offers programming and provides support for the Cobb County PARKS-run park on Roswell Road.
The club meets the second Saturday of every month in the upper pavilion, and on Saturday group leader Lyn Cohen met with several others to discuss projects for 2024.
The group is charged with beautification of the park, and last year planted some natural plant and perennial flower beds.
This year Cohen wants to add an educational component to the club’s work and on Feb. 24 will be holding a winter sowing event that’s free and open to the public.
Guests will learn how to seed a variety of vegetables and flowers in milk jugs, then transfer them to the ground as the spring rolls around.
The club also changed its name to include “nature” as it aims to highlight the native wonders of the 20-acre park, which marked its 20th anniversary in 2023.
“I love plants and I love to teach how they can make your lives better,” Cohen said.
She explains more about what the club is about in the video below, followed by photos provided by the club of some of the plants and vegetation all around the park.
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Drew’s Plant Sale will take place April 15 at The Gardens at Kennesaw Mountain and April 22 and Jenkins Park in the Fox Hills subdivision of East Cobb.
A month full of plant sales in the East Cobb area is starting off with a schedule change for this weekend.
Last fall we profiled East Cobb teen Drew Collins, who holds a plant sale twice a year with nearly 200 varieties of plants he grows in his own nursery, and as a budding small business.
What he calls “Drew’s Plant Sale” (also an East Cobb News sponsor) was to have had its first spring sales event of the season this Friday and Saturday at The Gardens at Kennesaw M0untain outdoor event facility.
But a wet forecast is in store for this Easter Weekend, and his father David Collins sent out a notice Wednesday that the sale has been postponed by a week.
The sale will take place at The Gardens at Kennesaw Mountain (1127 White Circle NW, Marietta) next Saturday, April 15, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The following Saturday, April 22, the sale will take place in his Fox Hills neighborhood, at Jenkins Park (3778 Fox Hills Drive), also from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
David Collins said there will still be around 250 varietals for sale at both locations (full list here).
The Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County are preparing for their 23rd annual spring plant sale and expo April 21-22 at Jim Miller Park (2245 Callaway Road SW, Marietta).
This one will be held rain or shine, and will take place under the equestrian arena roof at the park. More than 80 vendors will be featured (full list here), and there will be garden art and supplies, crafts, jewelry and food items.
The Master Gardeners also will be focusing their spring home garden tour on May 20 with five venues in East Cobb (info here), and which we will be featuring in more detail soon.
At the end of April, the North Fulton Master Gardeners Inc. will have their own spring plant sale. It’s the 22nd annual Garden Faire on April 29 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Grove at Wills Park in Alpharetta (175 Roswell St.).
In addition to hundreds of plants for sale, the event will include a vendor’s market, children’s corner, and a “vintage fleatique” of home treasures.
The North Fulton Master Gardeners also are conducting a spring gardening lecture series.
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This Sunday the Atlanta Koi Club is holding its annual Pond & Garden Tour event at eight homes in the East Cobb and Marietta area.
The self-guided tour takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m., rain or shine. The tour will display the many varieties of koi and their pond ecosystems.
The cost is $15 a person and the tours begin at Splendor Koi & Pond (1552 Rosewood Circle). Tickets may be purchased at https://atlantakoiclub.org/shop
The addresses of the private residences will be made available after purchase, and the venue address listed is NOT on the tour route.
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The Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County wish to thank the community for coming out and supporting our 22nd Annual Plant Sale and Expo. About 3,000 guests supported almost 100 vendors selling plants and crafts over this two-day event. Mark your calendars for April 21-22, 2023 for next year’s event.
Birdhouses, art and other garden decoratives for sale.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Garden Bargains is the Gardeners’ Night Out program at 6:30 pm Tuesday at Mountain View Regional Library, 3320 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta.
Master Gardener Joy Chanin will share many time-, money- and space-saving ideas in the October 12 program. Gardeners’ Night Out programs are free and open to the public.
Gardeners’ Night Out programs are presented at Cobb County libraries by Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County in conjunction with Cobb County UGA Cooperative Extension Service.
Upcoming fall 2021 programs presented by Master Gardener Volunteers, all on Tuesdays at 6:30 pm, also include:
Perennials: Divide and Conquer! on October 26 at North Cobb Regional Library, 3535 Old 41 Highway, Kennesaw, and November 9 at South Cobb Regional Library, 805 Clay Road, Mableton.
Cherokee Ethnobotany – If Plants Could Talk at North Cobb Regional Library on November 30.
For information, visit www.cobbmastergardeners.com or call the Master Gardeners Help Desk at 770-528-4070.
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The Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County are resuming some of their in-person events, and on Tuesday will begin its fall Gardeners’ Night Out series at the East Cobb Library.
It’s one of four monthly educational sessions featuring selected topics—Tuesday’s features fall bloomers—at various library branches around the county.
See the flyer below for more information; in a recent message president Gayle Bender said the organization also will be restarting its “How Does Your Garden Grow” series in person in September, and others will continue to be held virtually.
More details about the Master Gardeners can be found here; they’re also planning next spring’s annual plant sale and garden tour.
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We noted a couple weeks ago that the Sope Creek Garden Club is having its annual spring plant sale on April 30, which is this Friday.
You can find more on the flyer below; it’s from 8-6 at Eastside Baptist Church (2450 Lower Roswell Road), and admission is free.
The plant sale is being held rain or shine, and the forecast for the moment shows cloudy skies and temperatures reaching the high 70s on Friday, but there’s no mention of rain.
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Donna Outwater of the Sope Creek Garden Club reached out to let us know that the organization will be holding its spring plant sale on Saturday, April 30.
That takes place from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. next to the playground at Eastside Baptist Church (2450 Lower Roswell Road), and will be held rain or shine.
What’s featured: “Healthy plants from members’ gardens, including native plants and shrubs, ferns, ground covers, hostas, hydrangeas, viburnums, iris, day lilies, elephant ears and so much more.”
Admission to the event is free, and also includes decorative garden items, interesting containers, plant stands, and bird houses.
There’s also going to be a garden basket raffle, which tickets sold the day of the sale for $3 each/4 for $10. Baskets will be filled with new garden themed items such as: honey, jelly, jams, dry herb mixes, gourmet mustards, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, measuring spoons, tea towels, note pads, seed packets, decorative small pots and note cards.
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The Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County, Inc. (MGVOCC) are holding their 18th Annual Garden Tour on Saturday, May 22, 2021 from 10 am – 5 pm in the East and Central Marietta area. Tickets are $15.00 in advance and $20.00 on the day of the tour. Children 17 and under are free. Tickets can be purchased online at www.cobbmastergardeners.com beginning April 1. Masks required.
Learn and be inspired. The Tour features five (5) gardens, including four private gardens and one community garden. All the private gardens have been painstakingly managed by their owners, four of whom are Master Gardeners. They range in size from a small lot “Urban Oasis” to a nine-acre “Estate.” The Reconnecting Our Roots Community Garden is maintained and supported as a volunteer project by MGVOCC volunteers.
“Unlike other garden tours, our tour focuses on education as much as “stopping to smell the roses,” explains this year’s Chair, Bill Lovelace. “Our docents, most of whom are Master Gardeners, are there to point out the features and challenges of each garden and to answer your gardening questions. We not only showcase the beauty of nature in both shade and sun but give you ideas and information you can apply to your own yard. Free UGA publications will be available. We hope you join us on May 22.”
The Tour is held rain or shine, and tickets are non-refundable. Masks are required. Social distancing will be maintained. For more information, garden descriptions and maps, please visit: https://www.cobbmastergardeners.com
Established in Cobb County in 1980, the Cobb Master Gardeners are trained volunteers who help homeowners, businesses and organizations engage in research-based horticultural practices. They do this through the Cobb County Cooperative Extension Service and University of Georgia. Cobb County has more than 200 active Master Gardener volunteers who donated 15,396 hours in 2020 and 22,472 hours in 2019.
For gardening questions, contact the Master Gardener Help Desk at 770-528-4070.
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Cobb 4-H staff is hosting its annual plant sale to raise funds for 4-H youth development, programming, supplies and scholarships. The quote “To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow” by Audrey Hepburn is this year’s plant sale theme. Not only is gardening therapeutic, but many of the plants offered will get your yard ready for spring by adding color and vibrancy to brighten your days.
Plant sale pre-orders are being accepted through March 5 at the UGA-Cobb Extension Office. There are limited quantities of all varieties, so plants are sold on a first come, first serve basis. You can pre-order by stopping by the Extension Office 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday, and placing your order in person with a Visa/MasterCard/Discover Card, cash, check or money order. You can also mail your plant sale order form with a check or money order to: 678 South Cobb Drive, Suite 200, Marietta, GA 30060. Make all checks payable to Cobb Extension/4-H.
Plant sale pick up will be held 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday March 20, at the Jim Miller Park covered arena. For more information, call 770-528-4070.
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Wednesday was PTA Founder’s Day, and in Marietta, those behind the Birney Memorial Rose Garden, which honors the work of Alice Birney, one of the co-founders of the national organization, had their own celebration.
The Marietta Daisies Garden Club, which looks after the Garden, is seeking donations, and sent along the following information about the work they do:
“The Birney Memorial Rose Garden, originally named ‘The Sun Court,’ was dedicated in 1942 to honor Alice Birney as the co-founder of National PTA. This historic garden is situated on the, now, Marietta Middle School campus. At the center of the court there is a sun dial and it is surrounded by square, stone slabs representing each of the 50 state PTAs. Outlining the courtyard are garden beds showcasing 40 varieties of roses.
“The Birney Memorial Rose Garden is maintained by Marietta Daisies Garden Club volunteers, known as the ‘Daisy Darlings.’ Collectively, the Daisy Darlings donate more than 130 man-hours/year to prune, plant, and nurture this community treasure.
“ ‘Our members are extremely dedicated to preserving the memory of our Marietta PTA legacy — Alice McLellan Birney,’ states Carol Fey, Marietta Daisies president. ‘Our membership has a passion for gardening, but also education. Many of our members are former/current teachers and PTA members.’
“Donations are accepted to help with the maintenance and repair cost. Most recently, Daisy Darling/artist, Melissa Snyder, created a beautiful illustration which has been made into notecards and will also be sold as a limited-edition print to help offset expenses of stone replacement. Notecards are available for sale through Marietta retailers, White Rabbit Cottage and Market with a B.
“Founded in 2015, the Marietta Daisies Garden Club is an organization of women committed to beautification, education, service and leadership in our community. The organization is a member of the Laurel District, within the Marietta Garden Council, Inc, which is overseen by the Garden Club of Georgia.
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Submitted information from Cobb County government:
“Homeowners who own a home in Cobb County and have been adversely affected by COVID-19, may apply for mortgage payment assistance up to $4,800 and/or homeownership counseling. They must have occupied the home prior to March 1, 2020 and currently occupy the home, and they must currently be delinquent on their mortgage payments.
The Cobb Home Saver program is designed to mitigate home losses and provide optional homeownership counseling. Both independent and government studies have shown that when engaged at the onset of a crisis, homeownership education and counseling reduce the odds of foreclosure by 42%.
The Cobb Board of Commissioners approved $4.8 million in emergency funding for the program. The funding comes from the $132 million allocated to the county in the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.For more information, including how to apply, click here: https://cobbhomesaver.org/
For those who are for-profit businesses, don’t forget that Round 2 of the Small Business Relief Grant is still open until August 21st at 5 p.m! See link for eligibility and application requirements: https://selectcobb.com/grants/
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Smith-Gilbert Gardens seeks volunteers to join their Docent Training class of 2020, which begins in late January. Docents are the outgoing volunteers who lead interactive tours of the gardens for all types of groups and casual garden visitors. Beyond leading tours, docents also help with environmental education programs like Garden Stories, Butterfly Ambassadors, Scout programs, guided bird walks and more. Docents are the key link between Smith-Gilbert Gardens’ mission to be a resource for education, the physical collections at the gardens, and garden visitors.
No prior gardening experience is required – trainees will learn all they need to know. This is a wonderful opportunity for anyone who enjoys learning and teaching others. Due to the garden’s hours and popular tour booking times, some weekday morning availability is required.
Training begins Monday, January 27 from 9:30 to noon, at Smith-Gilbert Gardens, 2382 Pine Mountain Road, Kennesaw; and continues on each following Monday through March 2. Trainees will learn the history of the Hiram Butler House and surrounding property, the plant and sculpture collections at the gardens, and everything else they need to know to lead a fun, informative tour at Smith-Gilbert Gardens. Upon completion of training, new docents can start leading tours right away!
Anyone interested in joining the Docent Training class of 2020 should submit their New Volunteer Application online at https://smithgilbertgardens.com/support-us/volunteer/ , and will be required to submit to a background check and drug screen. For further information, please contact Kathy Post at (770) 919-0248, or email kpost@kennesaw-ga.gov.
Smith-Gilbert Gardens houses more than 4,000 species of plants on 17 acres in Kennesaw, GA. United by woodland paths, the gardens consist of separate groupings with individual elements of fascination. These include the Bonsai Exhibit, Paladino Camellia Garden, Crevice Garden, Rose Garden, and American Conifer Society Reference Garden.
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Custom homes at the new Olde Braswell Estates subdivision, where older ranch homes once stood, start at $1.1 million. (ECN photo)
As teardowns of old homes continue in East Cobb and the rest of the county, residents are taking notice.
In a recent survey conducted by the Atlanta Regional Commission, 62 percent of Cobb residents responded that they’ve seen older homes in their areas being leveled by new, bigger and much more expensive homes.
Furthermore, another 44 percent said they could not afford to stay in their communities if they had to move.
The ARC’s 2019 Metro Atlanta Speaks Survey, which was unveiled earlier this month, included the launch of the organization’s Metro Atlanta Housing Strategy, which is meant to help local governments understand their housing challenges.
The study was conducted by the A.L. Burruss Institute of Public Service and Research at Kennesaw State University, and included the responses of more than 5,000 people in 13 counties about quality-of-life issues.
More than two-thirds (68 percent) of the residents surveyed said they’ve seen home “flipping” in which residential properties are remodeled and sold or rented at higher prices.
East Cobb is included in what the ARC describes as a “submarket” of “moderate-to-higher-priced suburban neighborhoods consisting almost entirely of single family homes.” That submarket (see map below), which includes other communities mostly in the north metro area, has a median home age of 26 years and a median home sales price of $298,000.
For that submarket, the ARC suggests, among other things, expanding the housing supply by reducing development costs. That would include increasing residential density “by reducing setbacks and minimum square footage requirements that support smaller lot sizes, duplex-fourplex designs, accessory units, multi-family development and micro-units.”
Although there’s no public transit in East Cobb (except for a CobbLinc bus route along Powers Ferry Road), 48 percent of Cobb residents in the survey said expanded transit is the best option for the Atlanta region’s traffic issues.
Another 30 percent of Cobb residents said transportation is the biggest problem facing the region, followed by 11 percent who cited concerns over crime.
The ARC survey also asked respondents about jobs and careers and the local economy. In 2013, the economy was cited by 24 percent as the biggest problem in metro Atlanta; that figure has fallen to 7 percent.
What wasn’t included in the ARC survey was housing as one of those categories. They included education, health care, taxes, race relations and others.
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Submitted information about Thursday’s Cobb Master Gardeners open garden session on winter birding. It’s at the Wright Environmental Education Center (2661 Johnson Ferry Road):
Master Gardener and Chattahoochee Nature Center Docent Thea Powell will speak at 9:30 on “Winter Birding in Your Backyard.”
She will teach us how to create a bird friendly winter garden with native plants, bird feeders and habitat tips. You may also walk the lovely trails, enjoy a picnic on our tables, inspect our invasive plants jail, and check out our active frog pond.
Park at Chestnut Ridge Church, 2663 Johnson Ferry Road, Marietta– at the intersection of Johnson Ferry Road and Post Oak Tritt Road. Easy access to parking off of entrance on Post Oak Tritt Road.
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Submitted information and photo from the Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County, which is holding its next Open Garden event next Thursday, May 16, at the Wright Environmental Education Center in East Cobb:
Joe Ranney of Wild Birds Unlimited will speak at 9:30 and 10:30 on Backyard Birds, including songbirds, migratory birds, owls, and raptors (hawks, vultures). He will bring nest boxes, feeders, seeds, etc. Make plans to attend the talks and to walk the trails of this beautiful urban forest.
The Wright Center is located at 2661 Johnson Ferry Road; parking is in the adjacent Chestnut Ridge Christian Church, accessible via Post Oak Tritt Road.
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The Georgia Native Plant Society is holding its 2019 Spring Native Plant Sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 6 at the McFarlane Nature Park (280 Farm Road, off Paper Mill Road).
It’s one of two sales the GNPS holds each year to provide the public and its members with an an opportunity to purchase plants native to Georgia.
The Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County is having two fundraisers this spring for upkeep of demonstration, community, and school gardens.
The 20th Annual Garden Fair and Plant Sale at Jim Miller Park is April 19-20 (Easter Weekend) from 10-4 each day.
There will be roughly 70 vendors with products ranging from handmade dog dishes to pottery, jewelry to jams and jellies, furniture to yard art, and obviously, plants. The event is free and we will be there, rain or shine.
The 17th Annual Garden Tour will be in West Cobb and Smyrna in May, with four private homes on display, a working daylily farm, and a Master Gardener project, the Center for Children and Young Adults (CCYA).
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Cobb 4-H staff is hosting its annual plant sale to raise funds for 4-H youth development, programming, supplies and scholarships. The quote “To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow” by Audrey Hepburn is this year’s plant sale theme. Not only is gardening therapeutic, but many of the plants offered will get your yard ready for spring by adding color and vibrancy to brighten your days.
