The Southern Garden Heritage Conference began in 2000 as a collaboration between James R. Cothran, FASLA, landscape architect and garden historian; Dr. Jefferson Lewis III, horticulturist, professor and Director of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia; and Neal Weatherly, Jr., FASLA, landscape architect and University of Georgia professor. The conference is sponsored by the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, the Friends of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, the University of Georgia College of Environment & Design, and The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc. The purpose of the conference is to encourage appreciation and share knowledge of the preservation of historic gardens and landscapes. Conferences are held annually in Georgia with an agenda that includes numerous lectures on a diverse range of topics concerning preservation, restoration, and management of historic gardens and landscapes as well as historic horticulture and garden history in the South.