Demonstration Gardens And Projects

The Smith Home, c. 1840, has been an official NFMG project since August 14, 2001. The eight acre property is located in the heart of Roswell. A former terraced cotton plantation, the Smith Home and grounds are one of the best examples of architectural, cultural, and historical interpretation found in this region. The focus of the Master Gardener project has been working on approximately two acres of native woodland adjacent to the main house This area includes a spring, the original stone Spring House, and two streams. This woodland is being replanted and maintained by NFMG volunteers.

Over the years, non-native trees, bushes, bulbs, and flowering plants have either invaded or been deliberately planted in the woodland. Therefore the ultimate goal of the project is to have the woodland certified by the Georgia Native Plant Society, with the Gold Native Plant Habitat Award. To that end, the site has already been awarded the Silver Native Plant Habitat Award by GNPS.

( https://gnps.org/conservation/native-plant-habitat-certification-2/)

After years of hard work, the area now boasts mulched stone-lined pathways, a labyrinth, hundreds of native plants, shrubs and ferns. Several stone benches have been installed. Volunteer activities run the whole gamut from planting new native plants, weeding, watering, and maintaining the existing planted areas, cleaning and upgrading the sides and bed of both streams, and maintaining the mulched pathways. The stream bridges need to be rejuvenated/restored and the historical stone wall on the far side of the Spring restored years ago by a Master Gardener needs to be monitored for its integrity.

The Autrey Mill Nature Preserve and Heritage Center is a 46 acre Nature Preserve in North Fulton County with about two miles of trails and 8 historic buildings including a large Pole Barn. Some of the buildings were moved onto the property from within about a five mile radius of Autrey Mill. The Visitors' Center, deBray Chapel, Farm Museum, and Program Barn were original to this site. The Summerour House, Warsaw Church, Green Country Store, and Tenant Farmhouse were saved from demolition by Autrey Mill and moved from nearby locations.  This village and its related exhibit pieces provide an understanding of this area's proud rural heritage from the mid 1800s to the mid 1900s and are used for educational programs at the Nature Preserve.

In February, 2007 the Summerour House Garden was renovated with native, historical plants, herbs and perennials that were available during the 1860’s when the home was inhabited by William Summerour and his family. This was accomplished through funding by Autrey Mill Board of Directors, North Fulton Master Gardeners, a grant from the state of Georgia Master Gardener Association and additional native plants donated by Fulton County.

Since the year 2000, the North Fulton Master Gardeners have spent hundreds of hours developing and maintaining the gardens at Autrey Mill. While the focus of our efforts has been the Summerour House Garden, we are starting to expand our efforts to other areas of the Preserve and Heritage buildings. This includes a rock garden and shade garden along the path to the Country Store, landscaping the Warsaw Church and maintaining the entrance and the long expanse of climbing roses and iris that line the bank to the Visitor’s Center. Master Gardeners work with Eagle Scouts and their projects to maintain consistency in the historical and aesthetic appearance of the Preserve. 

All of the garden maintenance, with the exception of the lawns, is performed by volunteers, Master Gardeners and various School Groups. We are committed to preserving the environment and use mostly organic controls for pests and invasive plant species. This includes; weeding, pruning, fertilization with compost, and eradication of invasive plants. Our workdays are the 4th Wednesday of each Month from February to December.

The park officially opened to the public on March 17, 2016. Friends of Lost Corner is the community organization, a 5103c, providing activities in the park and coordinating the local participation supporting the park. NFMG volunteers have worked individually at Lost Corner for several years. In 2018, NFMG began holding lecture classes in the Cottage which accommodates up to 40 people. The lectures were promoted by FOLC which coordinated promotion and other support by the City. The lecture program was discontinued in 2020 due to the Covid; however, FOLC continued supporting the promotion of the NFMG lecture series.

Working with FOLC President Trisha Thompson over the two years of lecture series, Ben Whitley became aware that there was no City support for the garden bed in front of the cottage and there was a need to refresh the bed. Trisha pointed out the bed of ephemerals under a 150 year oak tree. These plants which appear for a short time between February and April include native and non-native plants but there was no record of what was there. The grounds surrounding the cottage have native and non-native flowers, shrubs and trees. Individual FOLC board members knew where to find particular plants. However, there was no way to share this information with community visitors. NFMG members are working to identify and record these plants so the public can learn about them. NFMG is also undertaking an identification and mapping project of the native plants along the close to one mile of trails through the forest.

Lost Corner has a fine greenhouse moved from Glenridge Hall when that property was sold. The green house is currently under utilized and provides NFMG an opportunity to use it to teach the community about plant propagation. Currently, a federal/state government program is progressing to build a wildflower bed on the embankment adjacent the parking lot.