Q: I was at Parkside West Cobb shopping center recently and saw the white house across Dallas Highway taped off and under construction. What is being done there and can you tell me more about the site?
A: You are referring to Green Meadows Preserve in Marietta. It is located on the northwest corner of Dallas Highway and Old Hamilton Road (3780 Dallas Highway, Marietta).
Work is underway to rehabilitate the old white house at the front of the property along with the addition of a new parking lot.
On three corners of the busy intersection, development (The Avenue West Cobb) surrounds the quiet 112-acre park owned by Cobb County and operated as a community garden and multipurpose park.
“Behind the siding is the original peg and timber framing of the 1840s Green-Bullard House in West Cobb,” according to the Cobb Landmarks Facebook page. “The house was used as a field hospital by Confederate forces during the Civil War.”
According to the preserve’s website, “There are public garden plots, Cherokee Indian medicine and food plant gardens, a Bluebird trail, a Civil War period house and garden, honeybee hives, etc.”
The plants in the Cherokee Garden are broken down into three interesting categories: Medicine, weapons and shelter, and ceremonial.
Green Meadows provides public access community gardening for Cobb residents and helps gardeners expand their knowledge of gardening through horticultural classes and individual assistance to grow nutritious vegetables close to home without chemical pesticides, according to the group.
On a recent Tuesday afternoon, a woman was trying to protect her plants from the cold in the garden space she has been renting for a year.
“Obviously I’m not having much success. My sunflowers have died and my pea plants aren’t doing much better,” she said.
In the corner of the park, there’s a sign that reads: “Warning. Honeybees a work. Honeybees sting to defend their hive. Proceed with caution.”
A few yards away, surrounded by a split-rail fence, are the honeybee hives.
There are four trails in the park, all easy to walk or run. They range from half mile to 1.2 miles for a total of 2.7 miles.
A large, majestic tree stands at the entrance to one of the trails where Liz Williams, of Liz By Design Photography in Powder Springs, has been taking pictures in the park for about four years. “I love how you can shoot in different places and it doesn’t look like the same park,” Williams said.
For more information http://www.greenmeadowspreserve.org.
Actual Factual Georgia runs on Sundays. If you’re new in town or have questions about this special place we call home, ask us. E-mail your request to atlactualfact@gmail.com.
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