As a vital and vibrant part of the Smithsonian experience, Smithsonian Gardens engages people with plants and gardens, informs on the roles both play in our cultural and natural worlds, and inspires appreciation and stewardship.

Smithsonian Gardens extends the Smithsonian’s museum experience in a public garden setting with over 180 acres of outdoor gardens including 13 public exhibition gardens often called the Smithsonian institution’s “museum without walls.” Staff also produces interior exhibits and horticultural displays around the Smithsonian, develops educational programing, and manages artifact, archival, and living collections.

Steeped in history, the United States Botanic Garden is a living plant museum that informs visitors about the importance, and often irreplaceable value, of plants to people and Earth’s ecosystems.

From roses to orchids, the rainforest to the Mid-Atlantic, rare and endangered plants to home garden inspiration, you will find a world of plants and environments in our permanent exhibits and gardens. Any time of year, you’ll see something beautiful in bloom in the U.S. Botanic Garden’s Conservatory, gated outdoor gardens, and Bartholdi Fountain and Gardens.

Dumbarton Oaks is a Harvard University research institute, library, museum, and garden located in Washington, DC. The institution is the legacy of Robert and Mildred Bliss, collectors of art and patrons of learning in the humanities.

The historic garden and museum form the public face of Dumbarton Oaks and receive tens of thousands of visitors each year. The garden is perhaps the last remaining landscape in North America that hews closely to the original Farrand design; in 2014 it was singled out by National Geographic as one of the ten best gardens in the world.

Buildings of architectural significance on the Dumbarton Oaks campus include the Pre-Columbian Gallery, designed by Philip Johnson and completed in 1963, and the Research Library designed by Venturi, Scott Brown and finished in 2005.

The grounds of the U.S. National Arboretum are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the year except for Christmas Day. The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily except for federal holidays from November through February. Admission to the grounds and museum is free and no tickets are needed.

The U.S. National Arboretum enhances the economic, environmental, and aesthetic value of ornamental and landscape plants through long-term, multi-disciplinary research, conservation of genetic resources, and interpretative gardens and exhibits.

Whatever you do, don’t miss visiting the bonsai collection. It’s amazing!

Asian Collections | Azalea Collections | Dogwood Collection | Fern Valley | Friendship Garden | Gotelli Conifer Collection | Holly & Magnolia Collections | National Bonsai & Penjing Museum | National Capitol Columns | National Herb Garden | Washington Youth Garden

Hillwood’s spectacular gardens capture the vision Marjorie Post conceived when building the estate in the 1950s. She designed the gardens to flower in the spring and fall, when she was in residence at Hillwood. Today, they offer something beautiful in every season.

Nestled in the hills of Northwest Washington, D.C., Hillwood welcomes visitors from around the world with its gracious hospitality. Escape into an oasis only five miles from downtown Washington and explore the pristine mansion, dine at Merriweather Café, and enjoy the beauty of the formal gardens.

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, a one-of-a-kind destination within Anacostia Park, is home to both cultivated and historic water gardens. It offers a vast wild wetland, displaying a unique beauty that includes some of the original tidal freshwater wetlands that characterized the area before the city was built.

Open year round. Walk the trails in winter and spring for birding and blossoms, see our famous lotus flowers bloom (late June to July), and come during fall to enjoy the crisp cool air and vibrant leaves as you picnic. Regardless of what you’re in the mood for, there is an ever changing pallet of activities for ALL throughout the year.

The summer lotus and lily blossoms are a “must see” during their peak blooming period in July, not unlike viewing the cherry blossoms in the spring.

The National Cathedral welcomes visitors to enjoy the peaceful quiet that surrounds the Cathedral. The grounds are open daily dawn to dusk.

The grounds consist of cultivated gardens, including the Bishop’s Garden; the Olmsted Woods, an oak and beech forest; manicured lawns; a prayer path; and the landscaped grounds and athletic fields of the Cathedral schools.