A Visit to Smith-Gilbert Gardens: Where Kids Learn Without Knowing It
Meet Smith-Gilbert Gardens
Smith Gilbert Gardens is a city garden located in Kennesaw, GA located off of Pine Mountain Road. The garden features many beautiful exhibits to walk through with much for kids to enjoy along the way.
Smith Gilbert Gardens just wrapped up their butterfly exhibit. The exhibit was open mid May to mid August where visitors can experience the full butterfly life cycle. The exhibit features about a dozen native butterfly species. I know we have our calendars marked for next year!
The garden also houses one of the largest Bonsai tree collections in the southeast. It is something you have to see to believe. The maintenance and craft that goes into bonsai trees is truly a work of art.
Along the way, there is plenty for kids to experience. They have a sensory garden where kids can feel and experience different plant textures like the softness of lamb ears. Smith Gilbert also has an Imagination Station where kids can read, play and learn how to observe nature. Smith Gilbert Gardens has binoculars for the kids to watch and observe nature up close, like the birds and butterflies fluttering through the garden. There is no shortage of beauty and things to explore here.
A Place With History
This property is actually a relatively new space to the public. Although the Hiram Butler house (and surrounding land) was purchased back in 1970, by Richard Smith and Robert Gilbert, Smith Gilbert Gardens did not officially open to the public until 2009. During this time they went through a very intentional planning process of what they wanted the goal of the gardens to be.
Diving back in time a little further, Hiram Butler built the house in the late 1800’s. At the time, it was about 300 acres of farmland that spanned all the way out to Barrett Parkway. You can learn more about Hiram Butler’s part in the great locomotive chase at the Southern Museum of Locomotive history located in downtown Kennesaw.
When the Hiram Butler House was purchased by Robert Gilbert and Richard Smith, they wanted to be very intentional with their plans for the land. What was the purpose going to be? What did they want it to be for the community? What was the goal? Today, the garden is about 17 acres, features over 20 art sculptures and is home to many different native plant and insect species. The entire mission of Smith Gilbert Gardens is conservation and education.
Learning Without Knowing It
This week, we got to meet up with the Education & Exhibits Manager, Vanita Keswani. You could tell Vanita is so passionate about the gardens as well as educating people on the importance of conservation. If you ever get a chance to talk with her at the gardens, take your notebook and a pen because there is so much knowledge you can absorb from her.
Smith Gilbert Gardens has 2 main goals: conservation and education. Vanita explained that you need to educate the kids without them knowing they are learning. In fact, we love how Vanita put it. She said it’s like giving your kid a brownie, they say it’s delicious and then you tell them that it has something healthy in it, like avocado. You need to frame things in a way that they don't even know that they are learning. It’s all about reframing how you talk about things. Instead talk about the experience of something- what you see, what you feel, etc. Then it becomes the kids wanting to do it and experience it for themselves.
Why Your Yard Doesn't Need to Look Like a Golf Course
Much of what we learned is not information that is common knowledge these days. And to be honest we learned things that go against the “social norm”. For example, realizing that having a “golf course yard” actually has true and lasting effects on the native species. As Vanita said, if you have bugs eating your plants and grass, you are actually doing something right!
Another fun fact we learned is that lightning bugs lay their eggs in the fall leaf cover. So if you rake all of the leaves away, you are removing the lightning bug eggs. If your kids enjoy chasing lightning bugs in the summer time, it might be something to think about in the fall.
It is the little things like this that make you realize there is more to it than just having a pretty yard. There is more than just having a pretty yard that we need to take into consideration.
What's Growing There
There is no shortage of plants and flowers in the garden. Everywhere you walk, you will see beautiful native plant species and organic fruits and vegetables growing.
The craziest part is realizing how the vegetables don't look quite like what you see in the grocery store. You get cucumbers of all sorts of different shapes and sizes. Not the “copy & paste” you see at the grocery store.
A Fresh Start
Last year, Smith Gilbert Garden went through a complete transformation and was closed to the public for about 10 months. During this time, new paved sidewalks were added throughout the gardens so visitors can easily walk through and navigate the gardens. They also added new restroom facilities! This may not sound like a big deal, but when you think about buses of kids for field trips coming to the gardens on top of the normal day to day guest traffic, these are HUGE improvements for the garden. Now they can accommodate school field trips in addition to the day to day visitors.
Come Visit
Smith Gilbert Gardens is open year round and has many different exhibits and activities to enjoy throughout the year, for all ages. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (65+) and $5 for kids.
On August 21st and 22nd, they are doing their Great Southeast Pollinator Census where young scientists help count pollinators like butterflies and bees.
The next event they have coming up is on September 26th, 2026. Smith Gilbert Gardens is joining the Association of Children’s Museums and Nickelodeon for Our World: World Wide Day of Play 2026. This is a day that encourages kids to get up off the couch and go outside. Smith Gilbert will have a variety of stations and activities set up for the whole family to enjoy. We’re excited to announce, that we will be part of it!
We will have a scavenger hunt for kids to check off as they roam the gardens: things like a wiggly worm, a spider web and a bird flying through the sky. Bring your little ones and see how many things they can check off the scavenger hunt. We will have fun goody bags for the finishers. We will be at the gardens from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, but the event lasts from 10 am to 3:00 pm.
