Project: Habitat Restoration, Establishment of Native Plant Garden 

The Harold Cox Nature Garden is a woodland habitat located at the base of Stone Mountain and includes areas of rock outcrop, streams and many Northern affiliate plants. We have completed our restoration plans for the Nature Garden.  See below for the work we did in the past 7 months. Remaining work includes installing plant identification signs in the garden area and with volunteer help, some invasive plants in the area may be brought under control in 2008!

Throughout Spring and Summer 2007 we created an inventory of Native Plants on the Nature Garden Trail (NGT), identified exotic invasive plant species present on the NGT and mapped areas for invasive removal.  Some invasives, such as English Ivy, were removed in Winter 2007.

Nature Garden Native Plant Inventory

For more information on invasive plants, go to http://www.gaeppc.org/list.cfm.

How you can help 

Our education staff will be responsible for all long-term maintenance.  We do need help removing invasive plants at the Nature Garden.  If you are interested, please call 770-498-5658 to join us.

Long term maintenance for the Nature Garden project includes quarterly monitoring of the trail and garden for invasive plant species, removing additional invasives found, quarterly weeding of the planted areas, seasonal plant label change, and watering rescue plants as needed for the first year.

Completed Restoration Work

April 2008: from now on we will continue to remove invasive plants, plant native plants when water conditions and time permits, seek volunteers to help with the area and monitor/maintain the trail system in a sustainable state.

February and March 2008: monitored for needed work (adding stepping stones, reshaping trea:d), installed new trail signs, removed honeysuckle and english ivy

January 2008: removed invasive honeysuckle in Garden Area with  volunteers, rerouted a section of trail away from a steep, easily eroded area, installed benches, installed new trail signs

December  2007: removed invasive honeysuckle in Garden Area with Georgia Native Plant Society volunteers, created and installed new trail maps

November 2007: weeded rock outcrop area

October 2007: removed invasive periwinkle and nonnative Tea Olive and replaced with numerous native plants, split rail fence installed along eroded creek bank area in Garden area, weeded rock outcrop area, snow fencing installed to cut off offshoot trails that confuse visitors and disturb plants, stepping stone crossings relaid

September 2007: Christmas Fern, Itea and Royal Fern planted along some eroded and steep creek banks, new split rail fence installed at the Garden entrance and along the road, Native plants gathered from plant rescues with the Georgia Native Plant Society or other areas of the Park, weeded Rock outcrop area

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