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Southern Garden History Society records

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS1001

Scope and Contents of the Records

This collection largely contains the records of Flora Ann Bynum (1924-2006), who was a founder of the society and served as Secretary-Treasurer from 1982 to 2005. Her records include correspondence, membership and administrative records as well as records of the Society's annual meetings and Restoring Southern Gardens and Landscapes conferences. Records also include program materials, financial reports, speaker and tour literature, brochures and articles. Semiannual board meetings include minutes, year end financial reports and correspondence from meeting planning. Beginning in 2006, records of the Secretary and Treasurer are also part of the semiannual board meeting records. These records provide a history of the activities and interests of the Society in education regarding landscape preservation and restoration of historic gardens in the Southeastern United States.

Dates

  • 1980-current

Creator

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open for research.

Restrictions on Use

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. All requests to publish, quote, or reproduce must be submitted through the Kenan Research Center.

Administrative/Biographical History

The Southern Garden History Society (SGHS) was formed in May 1982 under the direction of Flora Ann Bynum, William Lanier Hunt and John B. Flowers, as an outgrowth of the series of Restoring Southern Gardens and Landscapes conferences held biennially in Winston-Salem, NC. The Society was established in order "to stimulate interest in Southern garden and landscape history, in historical horticulture, and in the preservation and restoration of historic gardens and landscapes in the South" and is the first regional garden history society in the United States. The Society continues to cosponsor the Restoring Southern Gardens and Landscapes conferences as well as holding annual meetings each spring in different areas of the Southeast to exchange ideas and to study the landscapes and gardens in that particular region. A quarterly bulletin, Magnolia, is published by the Society to share news, projects and activities, and to provide conference summaries and book reviews. In 2001, the Society sponsored the translation and publication of The New Louisiana Gardener (Nouveau Jardinier de la Louisiane), by Sally Kittredge Reeves, originally published in 1838 by Jacques-Felix Lelièvre. The Society also jointly compiled Southern Plant Lists with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, which provides information on plants used from the colonial period through the early twentieth century.

Extent

7.92 linear ft. (19 document cases)

Language

English

Arrangement of the Papers

This collection is arranged alphabetically by titles supplied by staff.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Southern Garden History Society, 2009 with subsequent additions.

Processing Information

Collection processed in 2010, with subsequent additions.

Title
Southern Garden History Society records
Author
Jennie Oldfield
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center Repository

Contact:
130 West Paces Ferry Road
Atlanta GA 30305
404-814-4040