Summer at Gibbs Gardens: Lush, beautiful blooms in every direction
By Barbara Schneider, Gibbs Gardens
Summer—the height of the blooming season—transforms Gibbs Gardens into a floral paradise with inspiring new planting designs and colorful vistas in every direction.
“The 376-acre estate garden is bursting with blossoms in a wide array of colors, shapes and sizes,” said Jim Gibbs, owner/designer/developer. “We love to create new, original and colorful floral designs for our garden visitors in every season.”
In the Valley Gardens, Le Jardin presents a new approach for two-season garden design. Long, curving beds of plants with contrasting colors, heights, textures, shapes and designs add vivid visual interest throughout this garden. The new Secret Garden—right next to Le Jardin—is a lovely spot to sit a spell and enjoy colorful hillside plantings.
Byers Red crepe myrtles provide shade for viewing the lush Daylily Gardens as ribbons of dramatic flowers burst into full bloom.
The Waterlily Gardens offer an array of tropical and hardy water lilies. Five ponds showcase more than 140 varieties of waterlilies in their natural environment. Photographers flock to this garden to capture shots of the waterlilies and their pond reflections.
The Manor House Gardens offer picture-perfect views of artistic annual and perennial plantings set against rose-covered trellises, the new Fountains Garden and breathtaking views of the North Georgia Mountains. A wooded hillside by the Manor House Gardens features mature hydrangea—in shades of blue, pink white and violet—and rhododendron plantings as they show off their abundant blossoms.
Between the Valley and Manor House gardens, inspiration beckons. The Inspiration Garden is a treasure with 1500 evergreen Encore azaleas in all 33 varieties, 1200 native azaleas of over 100 varieties, the Drift Rose (groundcover) series, a collection of rare and unusual dwarf Japanese maples, a dwarf ginkgo collection and 200 varieties of dwarf conifers and more than 100 species of Heirloom roses displayed in this garden.
“The Inspiration Garden was created to inspire gardeners to plan for their own home landscape and gardens,” explained Gibbs. “Home gardeners have an opportunity to check out which plants are the best fit for their own yards.”
Plan on an early morning stroll
“There’s nothing like an early morning stroll through the gardens to start your day off right,” said Gibbs. Hundreds of natural, deep springs supply two large streams that wind through the gardens, bringing cool, fresh water to the many ponds, waterfalls and fountains throughout the Valley Gardens.
“It’s nature’s version of air conditioning,” said Gibbs. “Our fresh spring water comes out of the ground at about 63 degrees and circulates in our streams throughout the gardens. This process helps lower temperatures and cool air in the Valley Gardens from morning until early afternoon.”
World-class destination garden
Gibbs Gardens Daffodil Festival, voted No. 1 in America for Best Flower Festival in the March 2026 and 2025 Best Flower Festival contests sponsored by USA Today. Honored with the National Garden Clubs’ Award of Excellence, Gibbs Gardens has been named one of “The Best Places in the World to See Daffodils” by Flower Magazine; one of “Thirteen Best Botanical Gardens in America” and a top garden in Georgia by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. To learn more about Gibbs Gardens go to gibbsgardens.com.
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By Natalie Carmolli, Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Shrubs
Also known as Althea in the South, this hardy hibiscus is the plant that shows up when everything else in the garden is running out of steam. Big, tropical looking blooms and weeks of flowers. Rose of Sharon is a great plant, particularly this time of year. To learn more Click here for an interesting article.
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