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Garden Fest 2008: Sharing Secrets
Saturday, June 7, 10am - 4pm

Can you keep a secret? We hope not! Join us for the ultimate tell-all in the garden where you and your family dig up soil secrets, gather vegetable intelligence, connect color to fabric, seek garden treasures and simulate butterfly sight. Have you mistreated your lawn, neglected houseplants or butchered your grandmother’s favorite rose? Confess your garden mishaps and hear how to amend these sins from the staff of the Horticulture Services Division and their invited guests. Meet costumed characters, dance to music, win prizes and receive balloons and colorful temporary tattoos. Whether you’re a gardening guru or just want to have a fun afternoon outdoors, this event is for you.

What is Garden Fest?

The idea for Garden Fest was sown in 2006 and has grown into an annual all day family-friendly event presented by the Horticulture Services Division (HSD) at the Smithsonian Institution. The purpose of Garden Fest is to highlight each of the Smithsonian gardens and connect people to plants through educational demonstrations and engaging hands-on activities. Demonstrations focus on topics such as floriculture, landscape and container design, greenhouse production, the Smithsonian’s Garden Furnishings Collection, and environmental stewardship and conservation. Garden Fest takes place each year in the Enid A. Haupt Garden during late spring.

Location

The Enid A. Haupt Garden is located on the south side of the Smithsonian Castle between Jefferson Drive and Independence Avenue. The Castle is located at 1000 Jefferson Drive, SW.

Directions:
Take the Metrorail’s Orange or Blue Line and exit at the Smithsonian Station (Mall Exit). Entrance gates to the Haupt Garden are located on either side of the Castle along Jefferson Drive.

Participants

The following exhibitors are participating in Garden Fest 2008 by leading all day activities or scheduled demonstrations:
  • Butterfly Habitat Garden at Natural Museum of Natural History
  • Enid A. Haupt Garden
  • Mary Livingston Ripley Garden
  • Native Landscape at National Museum of American Indian
  • Victory Garden at National Museum of American History
  • Kathrine Dulin Folger Rose Garden
  • Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
  • Greenhouse Nursery Operations of Horticulture Services Division
  • Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
  • National Museum of Natural History
  • National Museum of African Art
  • USDA Natural Resource Conservation Services
  • Petal’s Edge Floral Design
  • Proven Winners®
  • Opportunities for HSD Volunteer Service
  • HSD Collections Management and Education Branch

Support Us

Garden Fest is organized by the staff of HSD and is being generously supported by the following:

If you are interested in learning more about supporting Garden Fest, please contact us at gardenfest@si.edu Attention: Supporting Garden Fest.

Volunteer

Garden Fest would not be a success without the help of its volunteers. We need people of all ages to participate in the following ways:

If you are interested in any Garden Fest volunteer opportunities, please contact us at gardenfest@si.edu Attention: Volunteer Coordinator

High school students looking for community service hours to count towards graduation are most welcome! You must be 14 years of age or older to participate.