The Cherokee Garden here in Cobb County Georgia will soon be high-tech.

A “Big Thank You” is extended to Cobb County Master Gardeners for their supplemental Grant that funded the first 160 metal plant signs with QR codes.    For the Cherokee Garden to become an educational garden we needed plant signs which would not only give the plant name but also give more detailed information about the plant.    When someone is visiting the garden and they want to know more about the native plant the visitor will just scan the QR code.    This code will directly take the visitor to the “Plant Maps” website site which stores all the information about the plant.   This will be especially important when the plant is past its prime or is just emerging from dormancy.     The first picture that will appear will be a photograph of the plant in its prime and then the visitor can easily scroll down and read about how the Cherokee used the plant for medicine, food, craft, weaponry, or ceremonial purposes.

This plant is a medicinal plant called “Black Cohosh”and grows throughout all of North Georgia.    It appears in late spring and then will go dormant around mid September.  Within a period of ten seconds the visitor will be able to accessed detailed information and additional pictures. Not only will the Cherokee uses be given but it will also contain information about the plant’s growing conditions and related facts.

The Harrises are busy uploading all the plants pictures and related history.   They have already completed all the data uploads on about 30 plants.   They will be completing this project over the winter and when the plants emerge in early spring the signs will be up and ready for the public.