Botanic Garden of Smith College

Located in Northampton, Massachusetts, the Botanic Garden of Smith College is set on a 125-acre campus landscape, sitting on the edge of Paradise Pond with nearby mountains providing a distant view. Smith College's first president had a vision for the entire campus as a botanic garden, to be of scientific as well as aesthetic value, and the original campus plan was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.

The garden encompasses the 12,000 square foot Lyman Conservatory and the Campus Arboretum with a variety of specialty gardens. Campus gardens include a systematics garden, woodland and wildflower garden, Japanese garden, and a rock garden. Additionally there are perennial gardens, a knot garden, and an herb garden. Our diverse collections contain over 7,000 labeled and mapped plants.

Since its founding in 1895, the Botanic Garden of Smith College has been functioning as an institution that fosters education about the science, beauty, and importance of the plant kingdom, serving as a living museum of plants native to New England and ecosystems around the world. Our goals are collection and display, education, research, and conservation. Visitors are treated to an extraordinary array of rare and unusual plants and garden displays. Additionally, the Lyman Plant House features changing educational exhibits in the Church Exhibition Gallery, plus a permanent installation of 178 Woods of the World.

For upcoming events see //www.smith.edu/garden/Home/events.html

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