The Smithsonian Gardens Greenhouse Facility’s Interiors section is responsible for beautifying many indoor spaces within the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. Our staff grows, installs, and cares for handsome specimens inside the museums. Keeping the plants looking fresh and healthy means identifying plants that periodically need to be changed out. When the plants are removed, we often get asked, “What happens to them when they leave the museums?”

Smithsonian Gardens Exhibit, Human Nature at the S. Dillon Ripley Center

Many of the plants return to the Smithsonian Gardens greenhouses where they get a little rest and relaxation, to grow on and fill out so they can be rotated with other plants into and out of the museums again. Others will be composted since we only have one greenhouse in which to grow Interiors plants, which means space is valuable and limited and some types of plants are easily procured and inexpensive. Often, though, we have another option for our plants: donating them to a worthy cause.

Smithsonian Gardens Greenhouse

For the past two decades, Smithsonian Gardens (SG) has partnered with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), located in Front Royal, Virginia. We coordinate with the SCBI staff that work with threatened and difficult to breed bird species.

When caring for these birds, they work hard to create a comfortable habitat for them to thrive. That is where SG’s plants come in: when plants are no longer looking their best for interior museum displays, they make perfect nesting and roosting locations for the birds.

Over the years, we have learned which plants work best for their habitats and which ones do not make the grade. It is important that we communicate with SCBI staff what pesticides have been recently applied to our plants (if any) so that they will not cause harm to the birds. We also avoid passing along any plant species that might be toxic to birds, whether it is the foliage or the fruit (like berries) that could be dangerous to them if they were consumed. And even plants that may not be toxic can pose a threat to small bird species whose tiny feet can become entangled in the stems of a braided Ficus, or a fledgling leaving the nest that can become caught up in the stiff leaves of a tall Sansevieria and cannot escape.

SCBI staff makes a trip out to SG’s Greenhouse Facility in Suitland, Maryland at least twice a year to pick up hundreds of plants. They arrive in a pickup truck towing a large horse trailer that is ordinarily used to transport animals around the Front Royal campus. Sometimes, space in the truck—even the cab! —is needed to haul what plants are unable to fit into the trailer.

The plants then make their way back to SCBI, an hour and a half long trip (on a good day!), where they are inspected and sorted before making their way into bird enclosures.

You might be surprised to learn that unwanted items such as silverware, writing utensils, and old chewing gum, just to name a few, frequently end up in the pots of plants that leave the museums. All those items are removed before the plants reach their final homes.

Overall, this partnership is beneficial to both parties: Smithsonian Gardens has the opportunity to be more sustainable, giving a second chance and rewarding life to no longer needed plants while the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute benefits by saving money and creating inviting homes for their feathered inhabitants. It is a win-win for us both!