Smithsonian Gardens Unveils Newly Renamed Pollinator Garden
Smithsonian Gardens will unveil its newly renamed Pollinator Garden to the public Tuesday, June 21, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., outside the National Museum of Natural History to kick off Pollinator Week.
After 20 years, this popular landscape is being renamed. In 1995, Smithsonian Gardens opened the 11,000-square-foot Butterfly Habitat Garden along the east side of the National Museum of Natural History at Ninth Street between Constitution Avenue and the National Mall.
The change reflects the growing importance of supporting pollinator health championed by the formation of a task force by President Barack Obama in 2014 and the implementation of the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge. As a key advocate for pollinators, Smithsonian Gardens’ reinterpretation of this space will educate visitors on the wide diversity of pollinators and the types of plants that support them. The garden display will also show what can be done to create beautiful pollinator-friendly gardens.
Following the unveiling, Smithsonian Gardens will host its third annual Pollination Party. Visitors are invited to join Smithsonian Gardens and local groups in a celebration of pollination. They can enjoy the beauty of the garden, see pollination in action and participate in fun, family-friendly activities staged throughout the garden.
“One in three bites of food you eat depends on pollinators—from butterflies and bees to flies and beetles—there are many different types of pollinators,” said James Gagliardi, lead horticulturist with Smithsonian Gardens. “The garden’s new theme focuses on the ‘Pollination Investigation’ that takes visitors on a discovery of the who, what, when, why, where and how of pollination by interpreting the unique relationship between pollinators and flowers.”
The Pollinator Garden is presented by Smithsonian Gardens, which was established in 1972 to manage the grounds of the Smithsonian museums and to create interior and exterior horticultural exhibitions. Its research and educational programs promote the ongoing development of collections of living plants, garden documentation and horticultural artifacts.
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