Gardens are a great way for children to discover and learn about the natural world.
Smithsonian Gardens provide an excellent venue for this learning, both in gardens and online.

Learn about our Horticulture
Activities and Resources

Postcard Greetings from the Archives of American Gardens, ca. 1905-1945

Enlargements of postcards from the Historic Gardens Postcard Collection will be on display behind the Enid A. Haupt Moon Gate Garden along the east side of the Freer Gallery of Art during the summer of 2009.

This exhibit was created and designed for the Garden Fest 2009 program by a team of Smithsonian Horticulture Services Division staff.

Visit the Online Exhibit

Butterflies + Plants: Partners in Evolution

Located at the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum, this exhibit features an interior Butterfly Pavilion. The Pavilion highlights multiple species of tropical butterflies and over 250 nectar and pollen producing plants in an enclosed climate-controlled setting. Horticulture Services supplies the plants for the exhibit and devotes 3,000 square feet of growing space to assure the plants are grown in a pesticide-free environment.

The Horticulture Services Division (HSD) offers a number of diverse intern opportunities for current and recently graduated undergraduate and graduate students studying horticulture, landscape architecture, collections management, or other related fields.

View a List of Internship Projects currently available.

	2009-2010 Internship Application Deadlines

Many visitors are surprised to learn that the Smithsonian Institution includes a number of "outdoor museums." These alternative centers for learning are the colorful and attractive gardens that surround the Smithsonian museums along the National Mall. Before going into the museums, discover the history, art, and science that await you outside the Smithsonian.

More about the Smithsonian Gardens.

	Smithsonian Gardens Tours

Archives of American Gardens
The Archives of American Gardens (AAG) offers landscape designers, historians, researchers, and garden enthusiasts access to a collection of over 80,000 photographic images and records documenting historic and contemporary American gardens.

Garden Furnishings and Horticultural Artifacts Collection
Now numbering over 1,600 items, this collection spans the period from 1835 to 1955.

Orchid Collection
With close to 10,000 plants in the collection, new acquisitions are selected carefully each year based on their display quality, educational value, beauty, rarity and how they complement the present collection.

The American Public Gardens Association (APGA) is the professional association for public gardens in North America, supporting the public horticulture community.