The Botanical Garden of the Piedmont is in the design phase, however much has been done already.  The community is welcome to visit.  Building a public botanical garden is not an easy feat. Botanical Garden of the Piedmont (BGP) has been driven by the Charlottesville community’s input, aspirations, and desire to be a place of beauty, education, healing, and unity.  The input phase of the garden design process is ongoing.  Through our continuous outreach, we hope to ensure that the built garden will represent the hopes and dreams of the entire community.

This presentation by executive director Jill Trischman-Marks outlines what has already been achieved toward building this garden, and gives insight into the road map ahead.

A video of this presentation can be found by clicking here.

A podcast of the presentation follows.

Jill Trischman-Marks is a landscape architect with almost 30 years of experience in the Central Virginia area. Jill holds a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia. Projects she has worked on include the five original gardens at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond, the Thomas Jefferson Parkway in Charlottesville, and the Poplar Forest entrance road and trails in Forest Virginia.

The program was moderated by SSV board member Norman Dill.

Program Summary

The 14-acre site near Charlottesville High School is in its early planning stages and is actively recruiting input from the citizens. Modern botanical gardens embed themselves in their community to deal with urban challenges. The mission of BGP is to invite community members to engage in nature, to educate and inspire through beauty and importance of plants, to advance sustainability and to promote human environmental well-being.

Already an award winner of its master plan from the American Society of Landscape Architects. The completion of the site analysis has identified needs such as a bus stop to improve access. Input from the community desires native flora, trails, amphitheater, visitors center, aquatic discovery area near stream and a canopy walk. A specific planting design has not yet been developed, but the guiding principles are established.

What is happening now: Invasive plant and garbage removal has opened an area for outdoor space during COVID allowing for groups to gather and the stream to revive. Garden Guardians, a group of volunteers, meet twice a month to maintain the site. Another volunteer group, Garden Guides, provide free tours two Saturday mornings a month. In addition, there are grant writers and even a drone operator who provides pictures and videos used by designers in planning stream restoration. BGP is making a concerted effort to develop a garden for the whole community to embrace and enjoy nature and each other.

The Botanical Garden of the Piedmont is free and open daily from sunrise to sunset. There is a community survey on their website for individuals to participate in. For more information: piedmontgarden.org, or email info@piedmontgarden.org