The Smithsonian Greenhouses and How They Grow

Discover what it takes to keep the Smithsonian’s many gardens and interior plant displays looking their best all year round. Smithsonian horticulturist Vickie Dibella takes you on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Smithsonian Gardens’ Greenhouse Nursery Operations facility in Suitland, Maryland, whose greenhouses provide plants for the institution’s gardens and horticultural exhibits.

Learn how staff care for the acres of annual bedding plants destined for the Smithsonian’s gardens, as well as the huge tropical specimens that hibernate for the winter at the greenhouses. The 10-acre facility includes growing areas, exterior storage, and greenhouses devoted to tropical plants, interior display plants, and nectar plants used for the Butterfly Pavilion at the National Museum of Natural History.

Get a close-up look at the thousands of plants that make up the Smithsonian Orchid Collection, which delight your senses with their fragrances, colors, sizes, and shapes. Find out about the environmental control systems needed to nurture the many plants in the Smithsonian Gardens system and get a preview of the blooms and plants that will add their color to the Smithsonian’s spring displays.

Know Before You Go

• Tour participants meet on-site at the Smithsonian Institution Greenhouses Facility, 4222 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, MD.
• Parking is available on-site.
• The facility is accessible via Suitland Metro station (Green Line).

Additional Date Option for this Tour

• February 27

General Information

• Registration for this tour will end by 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
• Smithsonian Associates is a mask-friendly environment. Please feel free to bring and wear a mask at any time during a tour, both for your safety or the safety of others.
• For additional tour information:
• Study Tour Policies
• Refund/Cancellation Policy