The U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG) presents a new exhibit Gardens Across America from May 24 through October 1, 2019. The exhibit showcases 21 public gardens from across the United States through vignettes created by each garden that display plants and items that illustrate the gardens’ stories. The displays were chosen from a call for entries to all gardens across the country. It corresponds to the USBG co-hosting the national conference for the American Public Gardens Association in Washington, D.C. this June when almost 1,000 members of the public garden community will convene. The vignettes are located throughout the outdoor gardens and range in size and scope from educational displays to large 25 x 25’ displays with plants, props, and sculpture.
Educational displays range from showcasing Fort Worth Botanic Garden’s begonia collection and begonia mascot used in children’s education outreach to a display showing how Pittsburgh Botanic Garden is cleaning mine water and creating new gardens. Displays feature iconic plants such as cactus and agaves in Tucson Botanical Garden’s barrio garden to carnivorous pitcher plants in Atlanta Botanical Garden’s bog garden display to native pollinator plants in the State Botanic Garden of Georgia’s display. Large sculptures are found throughout including a school bus (Bookworm Gardens), flamingo and butterfly topiaries (Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens), and a wooden bee and honeycomb (Smithsonian Gardens).
“This exhibit spotlights the diversity and beauty of the more than 600 public gardens in the United States,” said Saharah Moon Chapotin, U.S. Botanic Garden executive director. “Public gardens serve many important roles – no matter if they are recently created or long established, hundreds of acres or just a few. They educate about plant science and the native plants of their area, protect and conserve rare and endangered plants, and serve as modern oases and community gathering places.”
Gardens with projects featured in the exhibit are:
* Atlanta Botanical Garden, Georgia
* Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, Colorado
* Bookworm Gardens, Wisconsin
* Denver Botanic Gardens, Colorado
* Edison and Ford Winter Estates, Florida
* Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Ohio
* Lockerly Arboretum, Georgia
* Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, South Carolina
* Mt. Cuba Center, Delaware
* Norfolk Botanical Garden, Virginia
* North Carolina Botanical Garden, North Carolina
* Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden, North Carolina
* Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, Pennsylvania
* Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, California
* Sarah P. Duke Gardens, North Carolina
* Smithsonian Gardens, D.C.
* State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Georgia
* The Botanical Research Institute of Texas and the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Texas
* Tucson Botanical Gardens, Arizona
* U.S. National Arboretum, D.C.
Throughout the exhibit run, the USBG will offer programs, workshops, lectures, and tours related to the exhibit. Visit www.USBG.gov/GardensAcrossAmerica to learn more about the exhibit and associated programs.
The U.S. Botanic Garden is open to the public, free of charge, every day of the year from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with outdoor gardens having extended hours until 7:00 p.m. Memorial Day through Labor Day. The Garden is located at 100 Maryland Ave. SW, on the southwest side of the U.S. Capitol. Visitors are encouraged to use public transportation. More information is available at www.USBG.gov
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Contact: Devin Dotson, Public Affairs and Exhibits Specialist, ddotson@aoc.gov (202) 306-6743
