Visit, Search, Explore & Discover
The mission of the Botanic Garden of Smith College is to foster education about the science, beauty, and importance of the plant kingdom through the use of outdoor and conservatory plant collections, gardens, displays, and exhibitions, and to preserve and maintain the historic Olmsted campus landscape.
News & Announcements
Coming this fall 2019!
Explore the fascinating world of natural dyes. Hanging textiles of silk, wool, and linen showcase the beautiful range of colors possible when dyeing with plants, while accompanying interpretation explains the science behind the process.
Space for Well-being: Japanese Spatial Concepts in Gardens and Architecture by Yoko Kawai
Friday, November 1, 2019 at 7:30 pm, Campus Center Carroll Room
Followed by a reception and preview of the Chrysanthemum Show in the Lyman Plant House and Conservatory
Free and open to the public
Why do we feel contemplative in Japanese gardens and architecture? Can our physical environment foster our mindfulness and well-being? Yoko Kawai, lecturer at Yale School of Architecture and co-founder of Mirai Work Space, discusses the mind-body-space relationship found in Japanese gardens and architecture that is instrumental to mindfulness.
Each fall as colors fade outdoors, a riot of color erupts indoors in the Lyman Conservatory at the Botanic Garden of Smith College.
Parking info >>
Groups of 10 or more must schedule in advance.
Group visit info >>
Hours: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm daily
Fridays - 10:00 am to 8:00 pm
The suggested donation is $5.00
Spotlight
This August, the Botanic Garden contributed leaves from six of our Ginkgo biloba trees to Dr. Rich Barclay's Fossil Atmospheres project, which is taking place at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History. Research has shown that the density of stomata (gas exchange pores on a leaf) varies depending on environmental conditions the tree grows in. Paleontologists can use this information to reconstruct past climates by measuring the pore density in fossil leaves. This approach provides a powerful proxy for tracking how the climate has changed over the past tens of millions of years. Fossil Atmospheres is collecting Ginkgo biloba leaves from all over the world to compare against fossil records in hopes of learning more about climate change over time.
