Olive Wilson Robinson photographs of the Atlanta Botanical Garden
Scope and Contents
This collection contains photographs pertaining to the Atlanta Botanical Garden's major openings and special events from Geraldine Laufer's tenure as Public Relations Manager and Senior Garden Writer at the Atlanta Botanical Garden (ABG). The photographs were primarily taken by ABG staff members for use in press kits and include images of the Children's Garden under construction and the Atlanta gardens featured in ABG's Gardens for Connoisseurs Tour. Of special interest are photographs and architectural drawings of the Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Orchid House and Center for Conservation and Education in 2002.
Dates
- 1997-2002, undated
Creator
- Laufer, Geraldine Adamich (Person)
- Atlanta Botanical Garden (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
This material is protected by copyright law. (Title 17, U.S. Code) Permission for use must be cleared through the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center. Licensing agreement may be required.
Biographical / Historical
Olive Wilson Robinson (1943- ) was born to Alexander Love Wilson Jr. (1899-1951) and Sara Shaw Bennett (1905-1992) in Quincy, Florida. She married Roby Robinson Jr. (1940- ), an investment banker from Atlanta, Georgia, in 1962. In 1963, following her graduation from Sweet Briar College in Virginia, the couple moved to Atlanta and raised three daughters, Sara, Trigg, and Eleanore. Robinson opened a small business selling perennial flower borders and was active in the Junior League of Atlanta (JLA) in the 1970s.
Robinson and Barbara Humphreys (1936-2018) first proposed the idea of a botanical garden in Atlanta and garnered support for the creation of the Atlanta Botanical Garden (ABG) from Robinson's business clients, the Piedmont Driving Club, and several Atlanta gardening clubs such as the Cherokee Garden Club and the Greater Atlanta Rose Society. After officially incorporating in 1976, ABG opened in Piedmont Park, Atlanta, on a five-acre plot of land, leased from the City of Atlanta. Robinson and Humphreys served as the first Executive Vice Presidents of the ABG Board of Directors, with William Close (1940-2016) serving as the first Executive Director. Robinson and Humphreys organized ABG's early education and volunteer programs, including weekly educational talks, a demonstration garden, an outdoor children's vegetable garden, and a preschool awareness walk. Robinson also chaired the first annual plant sale for ABG at the Atlanta Dogwood Festival in 1979. In 1980, ABG received a 50-year property lease from the City of Atlanta and continued to expand their education programs and collections. Following her role as Vice President, Robinson served on the Board of Directors until 1985, and became a Lifetime Trustee of the garden. She documented the garden's history and expansion, writing Atlanta Botanical Garden: A Glorified Timeline, published in 2015. The Robinson Gazebo, part of ABG's Skyline Garden extension, was built in 2016 in honor of her contributions.
Biographical / Historical
Geraldine "Geri" Adamich Laufer (1950- ) was born to Albert H. W. Adamich (1923-1989) and Albina F. Adamich (1922-1983) in Euclid, Ohio. She attended the University of Pittsburgh, receiving a bachelor of science in Social Psychology and Education. In 1970, she married David Laufer (1950- ), before completing a Master of Science in Horticulture from Rutgers University. The couple moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1977, and Laufer joined the Atlanta Botanical Garden (ABG) as a volunteer, designing the first membership brochure for the garden. She served on the Board of Trustees from 1980 to 1998, before working as the Public Relations Manager and Senior Garden Writer for ABG between 1998 and 2009.
Laufer also founded the Atlanta-area chapter of the Herb Society of America (HSA) in 1980. After receiving the HSA Research Grant in 1988, Laufer authored Tussie mussies: the Victorian art of expressing yourself in the language of flowers in 1993 and the book was awarded Best Book of the Year award from The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc. in 1995. She also taught several courses in the Environmental Horticulture Department at Gwinnett Technical Institute (Gwinnett Technical College) from 1994 to 1998. Her 2-acre home garden in Atlanta, Georgia, was featured on CNN-TV in 1997 and awarded Best Garden in Georgia in the Large Garden category by The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc. in 1998.
During Laufer's tenure at ABG, she was responsible for writing articles for their newsletter, Clippings, creating press kits and promotional materials, taking photographs, and designing the ABG website. In 2002, she won two awards from the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts and three awards from the Garden Writers' Association for her design of the website and press kit for the Fuqua Orchid Center. Laufer proposed and drafted the book project,Atlanta's Urban Oasis, but retired in 2009, prior to its publication. The book was completed in 2016 by Danny C. Flanders (1957- ), who succeeded Laufer as ABG’s Public Relations Manager and Marketing Manager.
Extent
81 image(s) (37 color slides, 35 color photographic prints, and nine black and white photographic prints)
Language
English
Arrangement
This collection is arranged alphabetically by titles supplied by staff.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Some of the images in this collection are located in cold storage (CS) as indicated in the descriptive inventory. Patrons must allow 24 hours after retrieval of cold storage item(s) before viewing material.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift, 2015
Bias in Description
As archivists, we acknowledge our role as stewards of information. We choose how individuals and organizations are represented and described in our archives. We are not neutral, and bias is reflected in our descriptions, which may not accurately convey the racist or offensive aspects of collection materials. Archivists make mistakes and might use poor judgment. In working with this collection, we often re-use language used by the former owners of the material. This language provides context but often includes bias and prejudices reflective of the time in which it was created. The Kenan Research Center’s work is ongoing to implement reparative language where Library of Congress subject terms are inaccurate and obsolete.
Kenan Research Center welcomes feedback and questions regarding our archival descriptions. If you encounter harmful, offensive, or insensitive terminology or descriptions, please let us know by emailing reference@atlantahistorycenter.com. Your comments are essential to our work to create inclusive and thoughtful description.
Processing Information
This collection was processed in 2026.
- Atlanta Botanical Garden
- Botanical gardens -- Georgia -- Atlanta
- Botanical gardens -- Public relations
- Children -- Georgia -- Atlanta
- Endangered plants -- Georgia
- Land use, Urban -- Georgia -- Atlanta
- Landscape architecture -- Designs and plans
- Landscape architecture -- Georgia -- Atlanta
- Laufer, Geraldine Adamich
- Midtown (Atlanta, Ga.)
- Piedmont Park (Atlanta, Ga.)
Source
- Robinson, Olive Wilson (Person)
- Title
- Olive Wilson Robinson photographs of the Atlanta Botanical Garden
- Subtitle
- ahc.VIS549
- Author
- Thora Jordt
- Date
- May 2026
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center Repository
