Existing comment:
The 200th Anniversary
The U.S. Botanic Garden
Origins of a National Garden
The idea of a national botanical garden was closely entwined with planning of the city of Washington as the capital for the new nation. Founders Thomas Jefferson and James Madison supported botanical research and exploration and the creation of gardens as museums of live plants. George Washington loved horticulture and imagined a national garden in the federal city. The US Botanic Garden was officially founded in 1820 under the auspices of the Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences. |