TSW Selected to Create Phase II Master Plan for Decatur’s Woodlands Garden

DECATUR, GA – TSW, an Atlanta-based planning, architecture and landscape architecture firm (www.tsw-design.com), has been selected by Decatur’s historic Woodlands Garden (www.woodlandsgarden.org) to lead a team to design and implement Phase II of the Master Plan for the 7-acre public garden, announced Claire Waggenspack Hayes, executive director of Woodlands Garden.  The plan will include recommendations for enhancing the visitor experience through structural additions to the property, as well as a new landscape design for the former site of the Morse family home.  Additional team members include Long Engineering, Garden Designer Esther Stokes and Stability Engineering.

“Woodlands Garden is the former home of the Morse family, who purchased the property on Scott Boulevard near Clairemont Avenue in 1946, back when Scott was just a dirt road,” said Hayes.  “Over the years, they created a beautiful garden surrounded by unspoiled woods.   To preserve this special place for generations to come, the Morses gave Woodlands to the Decatur Preservation Alliance (DPA) in 2002.  Landscape architects Edward Daugherty and Lynn Saussy created our Master Plan, so we could begin engaging and educating the community.  In 2006, the Woodlands Board announced that the focus of the Garden would be plants native to the Georgia Piedmont, and Steve Sanchez created a planting plan for the native plant demonstration garden.”

“Woodlands Garden of Decatur, Inc. was formed as a non-profit and took title to the property in 2011.  Now it’s time to take this special place to the next level in order to welcome the larger community and enhance the visitor experience,” Board Chairman Alan McNabb added.  “TSW has a great deal of experience designing and enhancing public parks and gardens like Piedmont Park and we are very excited to have them and their team on board as we embark on Phase II of the Master Plan.”

“Our first order of business is to listen,” said Ryan Jenkins, director of TSW’s Landscape Architecture Studio.  “We’ll talk to Board members, volunteers and visitors to learn their vision for Woodlands Garden and how they want the property to be used and enjoyed.  Ideas might include safer, more visible access from Scott Boulevard, better parking, educational spaces, better flow from one area of the garden to another, seating, restroom facilities, improved signage, etc.  Whatever the final ideas, we will focus on how to best feature the natural landscape from multiple vantage points and perspectives, working with the existing topography to preserve the green sanctuary, showcase the plant collections and maintain the site’s natural beauty.  We’ll address form, function, materials and budget, and we will recommend permanent changes that will stand the test of time, and can be phased in, if needed.”

TSW was introduced to Woodlands Garden stakeholders at an onsite event June 30.  Visitors immediately took the opportunity to share their ideas with Jenkins and the Board of Directors.  Work on the plan is expected to continue through May 2014.

About TSW

Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates (TSW) is a full-service planning, architecture and landscape architecture firm.  The award-winning Atlanta company was founded in 1990 and specializes in sustainable community design and architecture. TSW is a leader in the New Urbanist movement and employs a community planning and design process that links tradition and context with today’s cultural and environmental demands.  Sustainable design is an integral part of all TSW work, from the master plan level to the individual building components. TSW’s staff members are LEED Accredited Professionals and their designs incorporate a range of ideas for progressive energy and resource saving solutions.  www.tsw-design.com.

About Woodlands Garden

Woodlands Garden’s mission is to preserve a woodland garden as an urban sanctuary for educating and engaging the community in the natural world.  The Morse family, the Woodlands Garden Board of Directors and many community volunteers have created a Georgia Piedmont demonstration garden to showcase our area’s many native plants.  The Garden is now open to the public during daylight hours, seven days a week.  www.woodlandsgarden.org