The Franklin Tree garden welcomes visitors on the far east end of the gardens. A red Japanese maple, Rose of Sharon trees, and Camellia bushes surround an inviting bench, a lovely arbor and, of course, the Franklin tree. This tree was planted in our original gardens in 2013 and it survived the Hurricane Helene flood waters in 2024.

All cultivated Franklin trees in existence today descend from one or more of specimens collected by botanists John Bartram (1699-1777) and his son, William (1739-1823) in a small grove along Georgia’s Altamaha River in 1765