United States Botanic Garden

Founded in 1820, the United States Botanic Garden (USBG) is the oldest continuously operating botanic garden in North America. The Garden informs visitors about the importance, value, and diversity of plants, as well as their aesthetic, cultural, economic, therapeutic, and ecological significance. With more than a million visitors annually, the USBG strives to demonstrate and promote sustainable practices. The Garden is a living plant museum accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and Botanic Gardens Conservation International.

Exhibits

"Cultivate: Growing Food in a Changing World" exhibit on display through December 2023.

Agriculture impacts everyone’s daily life and not just because of the food we eat. Explore the galleries and gardens to learn how inventive ideas in agriculture, both scientific and social, sustain and enrich life and how growing and cooking food connects people with each other and communities. Agriculture, the science and technique of growing crops and livestock, depends on innovating how plants grow. Generations of people selected plants for useful traits and developed methods to manage soil nutrients and water. Agricultural innovation and knowledge sharing continue today in laboratories, on farms, and at botanic gardens like this one.

See dozens of colorful varieties of corn and learn about the wild relatives of modern plants we eat, go hands-on to explore the science of agriculture through microscopes and hand lenses, dive into the many different peoples that have farmed the land through the centuries, and enjoy the smells of the plants that connect several local chefs with their food cultures as they share their stories in their own words. Continue your exploration through vibrant interactives showing how plants impact beloved recipes from around the world, see innovative home gardening through hydroponics and kitchen garden techniques, and test your knowledge of popular foods through fascinating world maps created from grains and legumes.

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