June 30, 2023 at 1:41 pm
One reason we preserve our living collections is to be able to do science with those collections. But sometimes, doing science is also living collections preservation in action. Such is the case with our accessioned crapemyrtle trees (Lagerstroemia spp.) and the associated exotic insect pest crapemyrtle bark scale (CMBS), Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae. CMBS is a new […]
May 31, 2023 at 5:07 pm
Roses have been a beautiful and fragrant part of our garden palette for thousands of years. Humans have cultivated roses for their medicinal properties, for the floral trade, and for beautifying our public and private gardens. Through breeding, we have increased the flower petal count from the typical number of five on a species rose […]
May 10, 2023 at 6:37 pm
My mother loves hummingbirds, so for Mother’s Day, I added plants and a hummingbird perch to her garden that will create habitat for the bejeweled birds. While hummingbird feeders are an easy way to attract these fast flyers, they can cause issues if they aren’t maintained properly. Feeders need to be continuously cleaned for the […]
April 17, 2023 at 11:54 am
It’s an American ideal: our strength is in our diversity. The same applies to our urban trees and urban forests. The diversity of the trees we plant serves as the foundation for the health, strength, and resilience of our urban forests as a whole. Each type of tree comes with its own unique attributes, and […]
March 2, 2023 at 1:27 pm
Are you looking forward to spring blooming bulbs? It turns out there is a way to “force” bulbs to grow and flower when you want them to. At the Smithsonian Gardens Greenhouse Facility, we have been forcing flowering bulbs for decades, although the practice has been in use since the 1800’s. The process starts with […]
February 8, 2023 at 1:14 pm
While February is the shortest month of the year, oddly enough it sometimes seems like it is also the longest what with winter holding on for its last full month. To get through this season’s last gasp, let’s celebrate greenhouses and their ability to extend the growing season despite Old Man Winter. Who knew that […]
December 27, 2022 at 6:15 pm
I like to add a bit of whimsy to the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden whenever possible, especially during the winter months. Last year I created a gnome that I named LeRoy. I had seen a similar idea when I visited a garden center in North Carolina and figured out how to make one of my […]
November 7, 2022 at 3:33 pm
Visitors to the Kogod Courtyard at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery most certainly notice the 25-foot-tall trees that inhabit and beautify this wonderful indoor space between the two museums. These twelve trees, all part of the Smithsonian Gardens Tree Collection, answer to the common name ‘Shady Lady’ black olive and belong […]
October 18, 2022 at 12:54 pm
Documentation of America’s garden heritage would not be as sizeable today, if not for the foresight and efforts of Alice G. B. Lockwood and other members of The Garden Club of America’s (GCA) Historical Gardens Committee. In 1925, the committee began assembling information for a book that would illuminate the historic gardens of the United […]
September 19, 2022 at 6:11 pm
Bromeliads are one of the wonders of the tropics. They are found in many different habitats and have a unique ability to create valuable microenvironments for tropical fauna. A coveted houseplant, bromeliads are also a prized ornamental for indoor and outdoor spaces thanks to their ease of care and varied colorful shapes and sizes. The […]
September 9, 2022 at 2:19 pm
Don’t accept the rule that the best way to care for your home landscape in the fall is by making it cleaner than your kitchen or better organized than your garage. In the past, the standard approach would be to prune all evergreens into the shape of a meatball, chop all perennials after the first […]
August 18, 2022 at 1:55 pm
Smithsonian Gardens (SG) and the Archives of American Gardens (AAG) have a lot to celebrate in 2022. This year marks a series of institutional milestones, including the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Smithsonian Gardens in 1972, the 35th anniversary of the formation of the Archives of American Gardens in 1987, and the 30th anniversary […]
July 14, 2022 at 2:26 pm
Smithsonian Gardens (SG) is celebrating its 50th anniversary on July 31, 2022! It has been truly amazing to witness the growth and positive impact that SG has experienced as it has matured into a world-class public garden and living museum that serves millions of visitors in Washington, D.C. each year. SG serves as a vital […]
June 13, 2022 at 5:35 pm
What better way to honor Father’s Day than by celebrating men and their flowers? Here are a few fun photos from the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Gardens, which houses tens of thousands of images and records that document gardens and landscapes from the 1890s to today. David Burpee was a seed seller with a strong […]
April 4, 2022 at 9:58 am
As gardeners we are often confronted with questions like “When is the best time to plant my tomatoes?” or “When is the right time to apply a pre-emergent for crabgrass control on my lawn?” Questions like these are frequently difficult to answer as there is often much variation in the spring weather from one year […]