Smithsonian Gardens
Parterre of the Enid A. Haupt Garden
|
|
| Established | 1972 |
|---|---|
| Location | The National Mall, Washington, D.C. |
| Type | public gardens and archives |
| Director | Barbara Faust |
| Public transit access | L'Enfant Plaza Metro Stop or Smithsonian Metro Stop (Washington Metro) |
| Website | gardens.si.edu |
The Smithsonian Gardens, a division of the Smithsonian Institution, is responsible for the "landscapes, interiorscapes, and horticulture-related collections and exhibits", which serve as an outdoor extension of the Smithsonian's museums and learning spaces in Washington, D.C. Established in 1972 as a groundskeeping and horticulture program, Smithsonian Gardens currently manages 180 acres of gardens on the National Mall, 64,000 square feet of greenhouse production space, and the Archives of American Gardens, a research collection of over 60,000 photographs and archival records covering American landscape history from the 1870s to the present.
In 1972, the eighth secretary of the Smithsonian, S. Dillon Ripley, established the Office of Horticulture, with the intention of extending the Smithsonian's research and education efforts to its outdoor spaces. Ripley hired James R. Buckler as its first director and the first horticulturalist at the Institution. The office was created at a time when gardening was increasing in popularity across the United States, and its educational mission was buoyed by this surge of interest from the public. Buckler's first assignment was to research and plan for the Victorian garden that was installed between the Smithsonian Castle and Independence avenue in celebration of the United States Bicentennial in 1976. The popularity of the Victorian garden would later provide design inspiration for the Enid A. Haupt Garden's central parterre.
Buckler served as director of the Office of Horticulture for 23 years. Buckler was succeeded by Nancy J. Bechtol, who served as the Director of the Horticulture Services Division from 1995 until 2002.
In 2009, the Smithsonian Institution changed the name from the Horticulture Services Division to the Smithsonian Gardens; the change was announced to the public in 2010.
The gardens and landscapes managed by Smithsonian Gardens include:
Smithsonian Gardens practices integrated pest management as a way of controlling garden pests in all of the gardens and landscapes it manages. These methods are intended to produce as little hazard to people and the environment as possible.
...
Wikipedia