The Rivers of Iris exhibit at the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens (CGBG) is flourishing, but the technicolor blooms aren’t the only things attracting attention. Stan Gray, volunteer iris curator at CGBG, and Brian Shamblin, an associate research scientist with the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, are growing several mystery irises at the gardens that could prove to be one of two exceptionally rare iris species: Iris rivularis or a variant of Iris hexagona.

Five University of Georgia faculty and staff members are being honored for their commitment to public service and outreach. Phillip Brannen, professor and UGA Cooperative Extension specialist in the plant pathology department in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, has been named a Walter Barnard Hill Fellow for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service and Outreach. Jacob Price, a senior public service associate and Lowndes County Extension coordinator, received the Walter Barnard Hill Award.

Starting seeds indoors can give you a jump on the growing season, helping you stay ahead of the stifling summer heat and the inevitable wave of insect pests. While the cold lingers, plenty of garden prep can be done indoors, including ordering seeds, mapping out your garden and purchasing supplies online or from your local gardening store. With mild afternoons upon us, you’ll be ready to tackle outdoor preparations. To help you get the best results when starting seeds, we turned to three top experts from University of Georgia Cooperative Extension to set you up for success.

The National Academy of Inventors has selected eight University of Georgia researchers as 2025 NAI Senior Members, surpassing its own record of five inductees set last year. UGA now has 24 Senior Members overall. “We are thrilled to celebrate these latest UGA elections to the country’s leading organization for groundbreaking inventors and innovators,” said Chris King, interim vice president for research. “Their dedication to translating research into tangible impact embodies the university’s land-grant mission and our commitment to serving society through innovation.”

New research on using controlled environment agriculture to grow plants with medicinal properties could lead to production methods that will increase one anti-cancer compound naturally produced by certain species of plants. The study, led by doctoral student Rebekah Maynard, was designed to identify crops used in medical treatments and develop CEA production strategies that will increase the concentration of an anti-cancer compound produced by the plants.

From bringing more than 50 varieties to market to monitoring the growing economic impact of the blueberry, this series dives into the multidisciplinary University of Georgia research behind the top-10 Georgia commodity. “The UGA blueberry breeding program has been a key to the success of launching a significant commercial blueberry industry in Georgia in the 1980s and helping sustain it for four decades,” said Scott NeSmith, professor emeritus in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.