Athens, GA • April 12-15, 2026
SpringHill Suites by Marriott, Athens West
Convention hotel price $149 plus taxes (reservations made at least 30 days prior).

The 2026 ASA National Convention will be held in Athens, Georgia, on the banks of the Oconee River, from Sunday, April 12 to Wednesday, April 15, 2026. Athens is the home of the University of Georgia, chartered in 1785, the oldest state-chartered public university in the United States. Athens was named in 1801 for the Greek center of culture and learning in ancient times. William Bartram passed near this area on his way to Mobile and Baton Rouge in 1775. He documented seeing native azaleas along his journey. Nurseries, such as Fruitland Nursery in Augusta, Georgia, began selling evergreen azaleas in the latter half of the nineteenth century throughout the Southeast, where they thrived in places like Athens, the Classic City. Athens azaleas are a classic tradition.

Athens is a little less than 80 miles from the Atlanta airport, 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on traffic. There is shuttle service available from the airport to Athens. Check the Internet for the latest available choices.

Our host hotel is Springhill Suites Athens West, a Marriott hotel. The rate is $149 per night, plus taxes and lodging fees and is valid for an extra day or two after the convention. Parking is complementary. Buffet breakfast is included. You can call the number below to make your reservations (mention the Azalea Society to get the special reduced rate) or use the hotel reservation button at the top of this page. The cutoff for reservations at this rate is March 13, and the block of rooms is limited, so book early.

Springhill Suites Athens West
3500 Daniells Bridge Road
Athens GA 30606
Phone: (706) 353-8484

Sunday, April 12
Check-in and registration will be open at the hotel from 12:00 noon until 5:00 pm. There will be an ASA board meeting at 3:00 pm. Join us for a Meet and Greet from 5:00 pm until 6:30. During this time, Dr. Todd Lasseigne, Executive Director, Bellingrath Gardens, Theodore, Alabama, will speak to us about recent efforts to revitalize azaleas at Bellingrath. On Sunday evening, dinner will be on your own.

Monday, April 13
Breakfast is included in your hotel reservation. The day will include two very interesting tours: the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and White Oak Gardens, the private estate of Dale Berrong, with lunch at the State Botanical Garden. Details of the tours are below. On Monday evening, dinner will be on your own.

Tuesday, April 14
Breakfast is included in your hotel reservation. The tours for Tuesday include three delightful private gardens: Allen Armitage Garden, Mike & Susan Floyd Garden, and Ram & Tom Giberson Garden. We will have lunch at Oconee Veterans Park near Watkinsville, Georgia. Dinner and the ASA annual meeting will be held at the Athens Country Club. Immediate Past President Charles Andrews will give a presentation on Georgia azalea hybridizers.

Wednesday, April 15
Breakfast is included in your hotel reservation. Your registration package will contain information on nurseries, additional gardens, and many other interesting things to see in Athens and the greater Athens area. Take some extra time after the official agenda and tour on you own.

Tours
Our garden tours have been planned and designed not only to give you the opportunity to see some delightful gardens but also to fill your notebook and mind with outstanding gardening ideas and a checklist of wonderful plant material that you want for your garden.

The State Botanical Garden of Georgia
The State Botanical Garden is a three-hundred-plus-acre preserve that was set aside by the University of Georgia in 1968 for the study and enjoyment of plants and nature. It’s a “living laboratory” for the University and the public. The Garden contains a wide variety of natural features and habitats common to the Georgia Piedmont area and a number of specialty gardens and collections. The State Garden is made up of several different gardens. The Native Flora Garden will be the obvious place to find our native azaleas in bloom. Georgia has more indigenous species than any other state. The Heritage Garden is a collection of plants that have been important to our region of the country. There are also lovely blooms in the spring from azaleas to dogwoods. The International Garden explores how plants were discovered and cultivated in different times and places, including the Middle Ages, Age of Exploration, and here in North America by Native Americans. There is also the Shade Garden, the Flower Garden, and the Herb and Physic Garden.

White Oak Gardens
Dale Berrong established White Oak Gardens in 2008 on 225 acres of wooded land, and it serves as the private home of Dale Berrong and his wife, Jerri. Situated in Madison County, approximately 15 miles from Athens, GA, the property features dramatic elevation changes up to 175 feet and 4 streams, amidst mature stands of southern hardwoods. The gardens have a natural, informal woodland design, showcasing tens of thousands of plantings of both evergreen and deciduous azaleas, other rhododendrons, Japanese maples, magnolias, camellias, and many other species. A greenhouse and several nursery areas support the ongoing cultivation and introduction of new plants, with three to five thousand propagated plants added each year as part of Dale’s continuous development process.

The Armitage Garden
Dr. Allan Armitage is the well-known author and retired professor of herbaceous plants at the University of Georgia. Allan and his wife, Susan, bought their house in 2011. It was a student rental house of 900 square feet in sad condition on a 60-by-100-foot lot. Today it is a beautiful home of 1,700 square feet with spectacular front and rear gardens with a large backyard porch designed to bring the rear garden (“The Secret Garden”) into full view.

Their home is in a neighborhood of high demand driven by proximity to the university and people moving from Atlanta to enjoy a small-town atmosphere. The garden was a true project. The site originally had a red clay base to which Allan added a load of compost every year, about an inch per year. Allan filled the space as follows: At the ground level, ground covers, low perennials, and annuals. Next are shrubs. Finally, he added vines such as clematis and honeysuckle to climb on the shrubs. Beginning with a lone pecan tree already on the property, Allan added annuals, woody plants and native azaleas, always being cognizant of morning and afternoon sun exposure. His favorite larger plants of interest are Japanese maples, which add variety to the garden. He has about ten of them, each with different color bark and leaf colors. One very striking maple is a ‘Bhiou’ Japanese maple with yellow bark. Ferns and hydrangeas are each carefully located to keep them in morning sun. Native azaleas and other woody plants are combined with climbing plants such as clematis. Allan plants other ground covers right up against native azaleas, thus having up to four different plants in the same space. His technique is very efficient and visually appealing. This garden shows what a plant expert can do.

The Floyd Garden
The Floyd Garden may be small, but here you can really enjoy native azaleas. Mike and Susan Floyd have lived at their one-acre subdivision lot since 1986. Upon their retirement in 2014, their gardening interest expanded into native azaleas and Japanese maples. Their large collection of native azaleas includes both species and hybrids. These are incorporated into their flower beds with hydrangeas, daylilies, camellias, and evergreen azaleas. Their large and diverse collection of hybrid native azaleas includes selections from Aromi, Beasley, Sommerville, Strickland, Whiddon, Koone, Abbey, Greenleaf, and Dodd.

The Giberson Garden
The Giberson Garden of Ram and Tom Giberson is an incredible garden. It is painting masterpiece with a large palette of plants, water features, boulders, and elevation. Containing both native and introduced plants, the garden of a little over an acre and a half is filled with hundreds of different genera and species in overwhelming combinations. Plants are tightly packed. Paths lead in multiple directions. Along the paths and patio areas are many container plants. The sound of water is everywhere. Multiple waterfalls and streams flow throughout. Koi swim in ponds. Foliage, texture, and color delight the eyes. And among all this beauty, one can find azaleas and other rhododendrons.

Speakers
Sunday, April 12: Dr. Todd Lasseigne
Bellingrath Gardens’ Re-emergence as an Historic, Yet Forward-looking Public Garden
Bellingrath Gardens has been known for decades for its rich displays of azaleas going back to its founding days in 1932 when they were first revealed to the public. Sadly, Bessie Morse Bellingrath’s collection is long gone, and the current state of this once immense collection, which dominated the gardens, had dwindled to 20 cultivars of evergreen azaleas. In 2023, work commenced to reverse this tide, with initial work focusing on expanding the number of evergreen cultivars to over 500 and upcoming work is focusing on collecting a diverse assemblage of both deciduous azalea species (including wild collections) and cultivars. Todd Lasseigne will showcase how Bellingrath is working to re-emerge at the forefront of azaleas as an historic, yet forward-looking public garden.

Tuesday, April 14: Charles Andrews
Georgia Hybridizers
Georgia has been fortunate to have some noted azalea hybridizers. Charlie Andrews will tell us about the evergreen azalea hybridization of Ralph Pennington and James Harris; the native azalea hybrids of Aaron Varnadoe, George Beasley, Fred Galle, and Earl Sommerville; and John Kohli’s evergreen and native hybrids

Plant Sale
One of the favorite attractions at our conventions is our plant sale where you can get special plants at great prices. Both native and evergreen azaleas and some surprises will be waiting for you. The plant sale room at the host hotel will only be open Sunday and Monday evenings.

Registration Fee
The 2026 convention registration fee is $250 per person until March 13, 2026, and $300 by April 1, 2026. Registration is open anyone. Registration is 100% refundable until March 13, 2026. The fee covers all tours (including transportation, snacks, and entrance fees), light refreshments at the Meet and Greet Sunday evening, lunch meals on Monday and Tuesday, and dinner at the Athens Country Club on Tuesday. Dinner on Sunday and Monday is on your own. Breakfast is covered by your host hotel reservation. Special needs (meals, etc.) should be entered on your registration form. Gluten-free and vegetarian meals will be available. You may register and pay online at the ASA website or go online, print the registration form, fill it out, and mail it in with a check. Register for the convention and book your hotel reservation early. Hotel rooms are limited. There is a $50 late fee for registration after March 13.