Great Lawn

The site of the Garden's largest events, such as the summer Concerts in the Garden series and the tented Garden of Eden Ball, the Great Lawn is flanked on the east by the Strickland Border and to the west by the Color Border and Vine Arbor, which showcases a variety of evergreen and deciduous vines, both native and exotic.

The Great Lawn was donated by the Kresge Foundation in 1990 and was renovated in February 2009, then again in 2016 with Bermuda 'TifTuf.' Horticulturalists continuously strive to make environmentally conscious decisions about products used to care for the lawn.

Nestled near the west corner of the Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory just off the Great Lawn is Palm Corner, featuring palms hardy to north Georgia, while on the opposite side is the Conifer Garden. This celebrated collection demonstrates the diversity of conifers and how they grow in the southeast. The palms are layered: large Trachycarpus, Windmill Palm, in the back, shorter needled palms, Rhapidophyllum, in the middle; 6-7 foot palms, Sabal and Palmetto in the front. Viburnum nudum, or Smooth Witherrod, can also be found with beautiful pink and blue fruits in August.

These hardy plants complement the non-hardy collections found in the Conservatory.