An Interior Garden within the Dorothy Fuqua Conservatory at the Atlanta Botanical Garden guides visitors into the private dwelling of over 7,000 rare and endangered, tropical and desert plants native to countries all over the world. Unique island palms and orchids, airy epiphytes, and Old World succulents like "living stone" Lithops habituate in the conservatory. Completed in 1989, the mist-filled, exotic house exhibits colorful, free-flying birds and a lobby display of poison dart frogs. The conservatory's Great Lawn currently displays a giant Olympic Torch made entirely of annual and perennial plants in honor of the Centennial Olympic Games (See LASN June 1996 ).

An oasis of beauty and tranquility, the botanical garden is considered to be Atlanta's "living museum." Incorporated in 1976 by the Landscape Architects of Pittsburgh's Environmental Planning and Design, the exterior grounds comprise of the aforementioned state-of-the-art conservatory, fifteen acres of landscaped gardens, and a hardwood forest with walking trails.

"Homeowner-sized" presentations of conifer, herb, Japanese, perennial, rock and vegetable gardens are designed and overseen by staff members, including consulting Landscape Architects Ed Dougherty and Ozzie Johnson. Several hundred All-American Rose selections bloom from May to November, while native insect-eating plants-- sundews, pitcher plants and Venus fly-traps-- reside in a carnivorous plant marsh. And, under the supervision of horticulturalist Mildred Pinnell, the newest exhibit, a collection of native wildflowers surrounding a serene pond, features a statue of a child at play.

The Atlanta Botanical Garden's library, museum shop and exhibition hall serve as popular meeting grounds for landscape professionals. Photos by Scott Mobley and Cotten Alston, provided courtesy of the Atlanta Botanical Garden.