Gardening

A little over a century ago, a limestone cave system north of Kuala Lumpur was reborn as a holy Hindu shrine, called Batu Caves.

From Cisterns to Temples, These Twelve Underground Worlds Are Open for Exploring

Some of these age-old subterranean spaces have even been transformed into amusement parks, art galleries and restaurants

More than 30 different varieties of cherry tomatoes are grown at this farm in Hillsborough.

Savor the Bountiful Flavors of Summer

These 15 images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest offer a taste of the season

The male Morrison bumblebee relies on its enlarged compound eyes to spot—and then pursue—desirable queens to mate with.

These Cute, Fuzzy Bumblebees Are Precision-Engineered Pollinators

As numbers of these key pollinators decline, conservationists are eyeing new federal protections for one vulnerable species

Farmer Robert Tomlinson harvests forced rhubarb by candlelight on his farm in Pudsey, near Leeds in northern England, in January 2022. 

The English Farmers Who Harvest Rhubarb by Candlelight

The secret to the world’s sweetest rhubarb? Sealed sheds, total darkness and a little old-fashioned flair

In celebration of the upcoming new film The Color Purple, the Smithsonian Gardens, in partnership with the National Museum of African American History and Culture, hosted a webinar to unearth the nature-related themes in the story. (Above: Alice Walker by Anthony Barboza, 1989)

Unearth the Roots of Alice Walker’s ‘The Color Purple’

Gardeners discuss the oft-overlooked symbolism of nature that underlies the Pulitzer-prize winning novel

Travis Gienger attends the weigh-in for his 2,749-pound gourd at the 2023 World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off. 

Minnesota Man Sets World Record With 2,749-Pound Pumpkin

Travis Gienger is a horticulture teacher who grows his award-winning gourds in his backyard

Having native plants in a garden can create a good environment for caterpillars, which are hearty food for birds

Why You Should Grow Native Plants in Your Garden

Entomologist Doug Tallamy explains how doing so can help insects and birds

Johann Baptist Schmitt, The Hermit in Flottbeck, 1795

Ornamental Hermits Were 18th-Century England's Must-Have Garden Accessory

Wealthy landowners hired men who agreed to live in isolation on their estates for as long as seven years

Steps lead to one of the pools that Louise du Pont Crowninshield had built among the remains of the former powder mill.

An Abandoned, Industrial Ruin Bursts With New Life in Delaware

Thanks to a few horticulturalists with an eye for history, a garden lost to time peeks out from the creeping vines

This year's titles include Watermelon and Red Birds, To Boldly Grow, Budmo! and Diasporican.

The Ten Best Books About Food of 2022

From cookbooks to memoirs to food history, these ten titles will fill you up

Harry Hall, Campbell's chief agricultural expert, inspects tomatoes in his office at Campbell's research farm in Cinnaminson, New Jersey sometime in the 1920s.

How Campbell Soup Turned New Jersey Into a Tomato-Growing State

The canned food company's tomato breeding program was responsible for developing several important varieties

The 17-pound spud could earn the top spot in the Guiness Book of World Records.

At 17 Pounds, 'Doug' the Ugly Potato Could Be the World’s Biggest Spud

Colin and Donna Craig-Brown of New Zealand named the giant tuber and have been taking it for walks

Cogongrass in bloom during early summer.

'World's Worst Invasive Weed' Sold at Many U.S. Garden Centers

Banned by federal and state regulators, many invasive plants are still being sold at garden centers, nurseries and online retailers nationwide

The entrance to Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California.

Fifty Years Ago, Berkeley Restaurant Chez Panisse Launched the Farm-to-Table Movement

'Local, organic, sustainable' are common buzzwords on American menus now, but it wasn't always that way

The Sts’ailes forest garden near Vancouver, British Columbia seen from the air.

Indigenous Peoples in British Columbia Tended 'Forest Gardens'

Found near villages, research suggests the Indigenous population intentionally planted and maintained these patches of fruit and nut trees

Paper packets are filled with pea seeds.

How to Germinate Seeds for Your Garden Using an Instant Pot

Hack your way to planting success with the popular kitchen appliance

Participate in the City Nature Challenge by spotting and recording animals and plants in your city starting Apr 30.

Learn About Dogs, Mangroves and Gardens at Free Online Natural History Programs This Month

Stream these free programs and more this April through the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History

“The scale of preservation at this site is really exceptional and is adding considerably to our knowledge of English gardens around 1600,” says historian Paul Stamper.

Stunningly Well-Preserved Elizabethan Garden Discovered in England

The Tudor manor's grounds were organized in a geometric pattern of gravel paths, planting beds and pavilions

In downtown Detroit, Lafayette Greens is an urban garden and public green space where visitors can watch live music, enjoy local art installations, and take community yoga classes, all while watching butterflies flit from plant to plant.

Are 'Edible Landscapes' the Future of Public Parks?

Green spaces planted with fruits, veggies and herbs are sprouting across the globe, and the bounty is meant to share

Agricultural mechanization resulted in the loss of hedges: In 1946, there were an estimated 500,000 miles of hedgerows in England; by 1993, there were 236,000 miles. A neatly trimmed border hedge in Craigleith, Edinburgh.

How Hedges Became the Unofficial Emblem of Great Britain

A shear celebration of the ubiquitous boxy bushes that have defined the British landscape since the Bronze Age

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