Cultivating America’s Gardens
Mariemont, Newport, Rhode Island, 1920s Archives of American Gardens, Garden Club of America Collection
Americans have been making gardens forever, constantly innovating and experimenting as they work the soil. Amateurs and professionals, young and old, schoolchildren and scientists — Americans of every sort have put their backs into gardening. And for a variety of motives: beauty, food, science, prestige.
American garden-making has evolved over time, shaped by history, social attitudes, the environment, and new ideas. Illustrating this history with books and other materials from their vast holdings, the Smithsonian Libraries and Smithsonian Gardens take us on a special kind of garden tour.
“Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens...they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bands.”
– Thomas Jefferson
