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Of course DC has lots of interesting and beautiful gardens, but many people don't think of visiting the Smithsonian as part of their garden tours. The gardens and landscaping there are wonderful; there's always something new blooming in them (in season, of course). Here's a primer, starting with the National Museum of Natural History and moving counter-clockwise around the Mall. The long, narrow space between the east side of NMNH and 9th St holds the Butterfly Habitat Garden, planted mostly with native forbs, grasses, shrubs, and trees (plus a few exotics) to demonstrate how homeowners can attract butterflies to their home gardens. On the south side, west of the Madison Drive entrance, and continuing around the west side and partway along the north side, is the Urban Bird habitat, also a mix of native and exotic plantings. Across 12th St. at National Museum of American History is the Victory Garden, planted with vegetable varieties that were available to Americans planing their victory gardens during WWII. The walled beds that encircle the museum are home to the Heirloom Garden, planted almost exclusively with heirloom cultivars of ornamentals. On the south side are some lovely crabapples (done blooming already, alas) and wisteria along the walls. Across the mall at the Freer (now closed for renovations [Jan 4, 2016 - Sometime in 2017]) is a small decorative garden in front and a delightful courtyard planted with Japanese maples. I'm not sure what will be there when the museum reopens in 2017. Next to this is the big one: the Enid A. Haupt Garden, bounded by the Freer, the Castle on the Mall side, the Arts and Industries Building to the east, and on the south by the Renwick Gates at Independence Ave. The centerpiece of the Haupt Garden is the formal parterre (currently planted with blue pansies and purple tulips), lined on either side with magnificent saucer magnolias. The area to the west, bounded by the entrance kiosks to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the S. Dillon Ripley Center, holds the Moongate Garden, with lovely pink granite hardscaping and a reflecting pool. It's a tranquil space, with only a few well-chosen woody plants and a few grasses. It's a good example of how a garden doesn't have to be entirely about plants. The area to the east of the parterre is called the Fountain Garden, and features more hardscaping and container plantings than in-ground plantings. Proceeding east from the Haupt on the north side, you'll find the Kathrine Dulin Folger Rose Garden, which is about to be renovated. Continuing east then heading south on the other side of Arts and Industries is the polar opposite of the Moongate Garden: the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden is full of antique benches, a fountain, lamposts, and a crazy variety of flowering and non-flowering plants. Really crazy: there must be several hundred different cultivars in there. East of the Ripley Garden is the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, which is much more about the sculptures than the plants, but still a lovely, relaxing space. The actual sculpture garden is across Jefferson Drive from the Hirshhorn building. To the east of that is the Rodney Dangerfield of Smithsonian Gardens: the National Air and Space Museum. Next time you're there, take a walk all 'round the building, on both the sidewalk level and across the expansive terraces. The landscaping is gorgeous. As far as I know it doesn't have a theme like some of the others, but the combination of woody ornamentals with perennial and ever-changing annual forbs is magnificent, especially on the east side. Then there's the National Museum of the American Indian. Currently the north side is closed for construction, but along the south you'll find beds filled with plants that had specific uses for native American peoples. There's a small pond on the south east side, and a much larger pond on the east side. The area around the pond is planted mostly with native trees, shrubs, and forbs, suggesting an eastern US woodland. Also part of Smithsonian Gardens is a magnificent flower arrangement in the entry to the Sackler Museum, created and changed almost weekly by the incredibly talented Cheyenne Kim. And in NMAH there are cases with displays from the Smithsonian orchid collection. Off the Mall is the Kogod Courtyard (inside the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum). The plantings in the beds change seasonally. Over the holidays they held poinsettias and phalaenopsis orchids, which gave way in spring to hydrangeas and now have azaleas. Now is a great time of year to visit. And on May 6 SG is holding Garden Fest. Say hi if you stop by.
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I'm trying to plan my garden for this year, and make a list of the culinary herbs I want to include. I'm talking about a tiny town-house front yard that faces south. I already have a sage plant that will celebrate 14 years there in May, and is due for a major pruning shortly. I'm thinking about basil, oregano, parsley, chives, thyme, tarragon, and lavender. I love rosemary, but it is so sensitive that I usually can't persuade it to stick around. What do you cook with and love to grow?
