Formerly Avenue of Magnolias

For many years, The Garden Clubs of Mississippi participated in The Avenue of Magnolias, a program started by Keep Mississippi Beautiful in the 1960’s. For a $25 donation, you could honor or memorialize someone by having a magnolia tree planted along a designated spot on a Mississippi highway. Over the years the program has planted tens of thousands of Magnolia trees along state highways. Due to new regulations, the program needed adjustments.

The program has now become Magnolia Gardens and is located at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Jackson, MS. The layout of the garden pays homage to the Avenue of Magnolias with a magnolia-lined boulevard and a sidewalk lined with Magnolia trees that leads to the main garden.

The main garden has a formal design with a variety of plants, trees, flora, stone, water, and wood. It is a cooperative project between The Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc., ARK Design+Build, the MS Dept. of Agriculture & Commerce, and the MS Agriculture and Forestry Museum. The garden is now in the final stages of completion.

For further information or to make a club donation by the deadline of March 1, please contact Pat Rutledge | prutledge38843@yahoo.com. Clubs may designate their donations as an honorarium or memorial, or just as a donation from their club.