Object Details
- Varying Form
- Butterfly Habitat Garden, formerly known as.
- General
- On June 4, 1995, the Butterfly Habitat Garden opened on the East side of the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). The development of the garden was a collaboration between NMNH and the Smithsonian's Horticulture Services Division (now Smithsonian Gardens), and was largely funded by a grant awarded by the Smithsonian Women's Committee. The original garden area was essentially a road verge, but a GCA Millennium Founder's Fund Award from the Garden Club of America in 2000 allowed for an expansion, tripling the size to 400 x 40 feet. The gift also provided for the installation of walks, an irrigation system, and an amphitheater seating area. The purpose of the garden at that time was to highlight butterfly behavior with native plants from four represented habitats: wetlands, wood's edge, meadow, and backyard.
- The Butterfly Habitat Garden was re-dedicated as the Pollinator Garden on June 21, 2016 to showcase a wider diversity of pollinators. Along with this change, native plants that were beneficial to pollinators other than butterflies - such as bees and beetles - were introduced, and the four specific habitats were no longer explicitly distinguished. The revised focus of the garden is the interdependency between plants and pollinators as a whole. Illustrated signs displayed around the garden inform readers about the pollination process.
- Plantings include common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), pawpaw (Asimina triloba), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), verbena (Verbena bonariensis), and other native plants, shrubs, and trees specifically selected for providing nourishment and shelter to the pollinators.
- Persons associated with the garden include: Smithsonian Women's Committee (donor, 1995). Garden Club of America (donor, 2000).
- Donor
- Smithsonian Women's Committee
- Garden Club of America
- Place
- United States of America -- District of Columbia -- Washington
- Topic
- Gardens -- District of Columbia -- Washington
- Donor
- Smithsonian Women's Committee
- Garden Club of America
- See more items in
- Smithsonian Gardens Image Library
- Smithsonian Gardens Image Library / Series 1: Garden Images / United States of America / District of Columbia
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Gardens
- Identifier
- AAG.SGI, File SG002
- Type
- Archival materials
- Digital images
- Slides (photographs)
- Photographic prints
- Negatives
- Collection Citation
- Smithsonian Gardens Image Library, Archives of American Gardens, Smithsonian Institution.
- Collection Rights
- Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
- Bibliography
- Garden has been featured in Carole Ottesen, A Guide to Smithsonian Gardens (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books, 2011), pp. 102-108.
- Genre/Form
- Digital images
- Slides (photographs)
- Photographic prints
- Negatives
- Collection Restrictions
- Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
- Record ID
- ebl-1521750004578-1521750004616-0
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