Revisiting Our Real Secret Gardens

Sadly the gate to our production of The Secret Garden is closing this Sunday. But D.C.’s beautiful gardens remain to remind us of all the understanding, love and power of imagination long after the theatre lights turn dark. We look back on our favorite featured gardens, the lovely gardeners who help keep them and the programs that bring them to the masses.

Hillwood Estate’s Secret Garden kept the long tradition of secret garden getaways alive and well. Their Friendship Walk emphasized how much gardens are spaces to share and enjoy with others. The Smithsonian Institute’s gardens reminded us how much potential greenspaces have. We loved stepping back into history to make a bright and fruitful future in the Victory Gardens, and the Urban Bird Habitat and Pollinator Garden taught us how green spaces can help ignite environmental and conservational change on a global scale. The National Park Service’s Netherlands Carillion gives visitors a perfect look at the city’s skyline—made all the better when the bells ring out.

Our guides through the greenery were as lively as the gardens they tend. James, Brian and Joe share their vast amount of knowledge with visitors every day and were kind enough to give us some gardening tips of our own. Be sure to stop by and say hello on your next visit.

As Mary Lennox learned in The Secret Garden, gardens are better when shared with those you love. While programs like the National Park Service’s Park Rx are spreading the word about the health benefits of getting some fresh air, we compiled a map of local gardens, submitted by our patrons and friends, for you to explore. Keep sending in your favorite garden spots and we’ll add them here. And don’t think that just because The Secret Garden is ending its run at STC that our time among the greenery is up. Gardens are beautiful year-round, with something new to explore always waiting just around the bend. Get out and discover more today!