Proposed by: a member of Peachtree Garden Club, Zone VIII

In 2002, Betty and Robert Balentine seized the chance to protect a 120-acre parcel of land in the mountains of western NorthCarolina from development through a North American Land Trust conservation easement. They established the Southern Highlands Reserve to manage the land for public use. The nonprofit’s mission is to sustain “the natural ecosystems of the Blue Ridge Mountains through the preservation, cultivation, and display of plants native to the region while advocating for their value through education, restoration, and research.” The 20-acre display garden and 100-acre natural woodland showcase the unique habitat of one of the most endangered ecosystems in the US—the spruce-fir forest—and provide exceptional opportunities for education and research. 

Since 1992 Betty has been a member of Peachtree Garden Club, Zone VIII, served as its president and as a member of the board of advisors of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens. Betty’s passion for wildflowers stems from her childhood, and she advocates for the publication of works on the natural world through her participation on the Board of the Cherokee Garden Library.

Robert’s love of nature developed at an early age, camping and hiking in the mountains of North Carolina, and was inspired by his father, an avid gardener, and his mother, Lillian Balentine Law, also a member of Peachtree Garden Club and a GCA horticulture judge. Robert is chair of The Garden Conservancy and founding president of the Southeastern Horticultural Society.