Visit EcoScapes Demo Garden

The EcoScapes Sustainable Landscaping Native Plant Demonstration Garden is located at UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant’s Brunswick facility: 715 Bay Street, Brunswick, Georgia. The facility is on the Brunswick River, about a half-mile south of downtown Brunswick.

From I-95 – Take Exit 36 Brunswick onto US-341 South. Continue south on US-341. Before entering historic downtown Brunswick, bear right on US-341 just past the marina. US-341 becomes Bay Street, and merges into one lane. The entranceway to UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant is on the right, across from Albermarle Street. After crossing the railroad track, bear left and enter the fenced area.

From US-17 – Turn onto Gloucester Street toward historic downtown Brunswick. Continue through downtown until Gloucester Street ends at US-341. Turn left onto US-341, which becomes Bay Street and merges into one lane. The entranceway to UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant is on the right, across from Albermarle Street. After crossing the railroad track, bear left and enter the fenced area.

Donations to assist us in maintaining and enhancing the garden are sincerely appreciated. For more information, please contact Keren Giovengo at (912) 280-1586 or at giovengo@uga.edu.

Plants growing at or near the beach or other coastal waters are subjected to salt spray. Most plants will not tolerate salt accumulating on their foliage, making plant selection for beachfront or marsh front landscapes particularly challenging. Georgia coastal native plants that exhibit different degrees of salt tolerance are highlighted in this garden.

In coastal Georgia, plants may frequently encounter drought stress. The use of drought tolerant native plants in a landscape can reduce the likelihood of plant injury due to drought stress. Because they have coevolved with the local climate, soils and rainfall, many native plants are well suited to drought tolerant conditions, once established. Converting a landscape to include established drought tolerant plants will also conserve water.

Native warm season grasses make up an important component of any sustainable landscape. Once established, they are drought tolerant and disease free. Like other natives, they have coevolved with the local climate, soils and rainfall and are well suited to the growing conditions in different regions throughout Georgia. The deep root systems of native grasses hold soil in place, reducing erosion and decreasing runoff, which helps keep waterways healthy and recharges groundwater. When native gasses die, their roots decay and add significant amounts of organic matter throughout the soil, replenishing fertility. Native grasses also provide optimum food, cover and shelter for wildlife.

A rain garden is a shallow depression that collects stormwater runoff from a roof, driveway, walkway, parking lot or yard, and allows it to infiltrate the ground. Rain gardens are typically planted with native shrubs, perennials and grasses, which have coevolved with the region’s local climate, soils and rainfall. This green infrastructure best management practice reduces stormwater runoff by allowing the stormwater to soak into the ground as opposed to flowing into storm drains and surface waters where it can cause erosion, water pollution, flooding and diminished groundwater.

Pollinators are vital to maintaining the healthy ecosystems upon which all living things depend. Due to biodiversity threats such as loss of habitat, pesticide poisoning, climate change and the spread of diseases, we are losing pollinators around the world at an alarming rate. Pollinators need a diverse, flower-rich foraging area and suitable host plants or nests where they can lay eggs. A garden with diverse native plants can provide an important component of the habitat that pollinators need. Native plants are four times more likely than non-native plants to attract native bees, and native plants support three times as many species of butterflies and moths as introduced plants.

Plants and animals are facing increasing pressure from human activities. Quality wildlife habitat continues to dwindle at a rapid rate. Urban and suburban sprawl destroys and fragments natural areas. Invasive plants from our gardens run rampant in the remaining natural habitats and replace the native plants upon which wildlife depend. Overuse of pesticides poison their food sources and can kill beneficial insects and other wildlife. A garden can be a refuge that provides wildlife with all their daily needs. Planting species native to your region attracts birds, pollinators and other native animals that have co-evolved and survived with the plants over the millennia.