Georgia Southern Botanical Garden

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Bland Cottage from the front.

Bland Cottage from the side.

The rose arbor with azeleas blooming in the background.

The Kennedy Outdoor Classroom with its stage in the woodland trail area of the Georgia Southern Botanical Gardens.

The Georgia Southern Botanical Garden (nearly 11 acres) is a botanical garden featuring many unique and endangered plants with many native to Georgia. The garden's main entrance is located at 1505 Bland Avenue, Statesboro, Georgia, a few blocks from the main Georgia Southern University campus.

The garden's staff offers a variety of instructional programs, plant sales, and workshops during the year with a focus on gardening. The garden is also used by Georgia Southern University as well as others as a place for festivals and celebrations. One of the more notable celebrations is the yearly Wine, Moonlight, and Magnolias fundraiser held by Georgia Southern in the Spring around April. The garden usually provides an annual Arbor Day event offering several varieties of seedling trees to the community.

The main grounds for the Georgia Southern Botanical Garden were willed to Georgia Southern University by the owners of the land, Dan and Catharine Bland. The garden is centered on an early 20th century farmstead the house of which, Bland Cottage, has been rennovated into a visitor's center and place for meetings. The botanical garden has a number of specialized areas including the Heritage Garden, Rose Arbor, Children Vegetable Garden, Camellia Garden, Native Plant Landscape Garden, Native Azalea Collection, Bog Garden, and walking woodland trails.

The walking woodland trails have benches scattered about so that people can sit and rest while enjoying the birds and other wildlife that live within the gardens. On one woodland trail is the Kennedy Outdoor Classroom with a small raised stage and benches that is used for some botanical garden presentations.

Several species of birds spend time in the garden including robins, wood thrush, brown thrashers, mocking birds, various species of sparrows, and cardinals, all native to southern Georgia. Squirrels also live on the grounds. Bees and butterflies are usually busy with the various flowers. The garden has a large number of flowering plants including camellias, azaleas, flowering quince, roses, magnolia trees, redbud trees, and others.