Garden Secrets

The experts who work the grounds of the Smithsonian Gardens share their secrets with and offer advice to everyday home gardeners. We’ll see them at work, tackling the challenges of growing a tropical butterfly pavilion in the middle of the city and maintaining an outdoor garden in the middle of winter.

If you think managing your garden is hard, try handling three thousand floral species in one tiny area. Join the horticulture experts of the Smithsonian Gardens as they design everything from tight, formal displays to English cottage gardens, and learn how their design secrets can make your own garden come to life.

Join the horticulturists and landscape architects caring for the Smithsonian Gardens in Washington, D.C., and see how the time-tested tips they use can help you create a bountiful vegetable garden in your own backyard. First, they recreate a World War II victory garden, then employ ancient Native American Indian techniques to create “The Three Sisters.” The expert team also offers new tips and historical knowledge to two home gardeners, helping them get the most out of the fruits (and vegetables) of theirs labors!

Like each of the displays inside the Smithsonian’s 19 museums, its outdoor gardens are created and cared for by highly specialized experts. See how these gifted gardeners create urban oases for pollinators in the heart of Washington, D.C., and how you can use their techniques to produce a sanctuary in your own backyard. From birds to butterflies to bees, and even bats, our skilled horticulturists will take you inside the secret worlds of pollinators and offer suggestions on how you can bring them into your world as well…well maybe not the bats!