After crossing the bridge, the path passes by the new Altrusa Native Plant Garden, lower pond and Observation Deck on the right and meanders into the woods.

A survey revealed that a water source lay underneath Hatcher Garden. In 2011, a well was drilled. This artesian well pumps about 5 gpm (gallons per minute) into the lower pond. A well is considered artesian when there is enough pressure to propel the water through the earth's crust to the surface without use of a pump. The well is indicated by a marker, pictured left. Peggy Henderson takes a drink from the freshly drilled well.

The Altrusa Native Plant Garden was planted in the fall of 2014 and dedicated April 2015. Pictured left is a view of the marker stone with three of the featured plants, foamflower on the left, eastern columbine on the right and Christmas fern in the background. On the right, is a view of the garden looking toward the bridge. For more information about the Altrusa Native Plant Garden, click here.

he American naturalist John Bartram traveled throughout the Southeast United States discovering and cataloging flora and fauna of the region. Some of the plant specimens he discovered are featured on our Bartram Trail and will be highlighted throughout the tour. William and John Bartram discovered this tree in 1765 along the Altamaha River in Georgia. They gathered the seeds and propagated them back in Philadelphia. They named the tree after John's friend Benjamin Franklin and the river where it was found (Franklinia alatamaha). The trees disappeared in the wild so the trees we have today are	Franklin Tree (Franklinia alatamaha)	Franklin Tree bloom (Franklinia alatamaha)
descendants of the trees that the Bartrams had cultivated. Pictured far right, is the flower of the Franklin Tree, sometimes called the lost camellia.