Gardening in the Washington Metropolitan Area (Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV MSA)

Photo found on Flickr courtesy of StevenSnodgrass.

The DC Urban Gardeners members are committed to locally grown food and the promotion of eco-friendly gardening practices. The website contains blog stories about gardening events and links to local green groups, plant sources, and garden blogs.

The 13th Street Community Park Garden website contains information about up-coming events, the development of the park and garden, and how to join the cause. The site also has photos, media coverage, and other information about progress of the community park and garden.

Fort Dupont Community Gardens aims to help establish programs for existing gardeners and people new to gardening, to connect youth to the environment througn gardening, to promote healthy recreation and encourage people to also eat healthy food, and to connect seniors as mentors with youth around the activity of gardening.

The Hill East Community Garden offers plots to members of the community for growing their own vegetables.

The purpose of this website is to teach gardening in a sustainable, environmentally responsible way. The principal author is Susan Harris. The plants grown in her garden are hardy to colder climates, and the site includes articles by outstanding garden writers in other climates.

Washington Gardener magazine is the magazine for MD, DC & VA area gardeners. It has a blog that narrates the creation of the magazine.

A Maryland-based Master Gardener keeps a log of her day to day experiences as she goes about gardening vegetables in her backyard garden.

The Fund for Kalorama Park is a non-profit organization established for the purpose of improving the facilities, land, plantings, and programs at Kalorama Park and its immediate environs. Since its incorporation, the Fund has provided maintenance, trees, landscaping, and benches and to fund recreational activities in the Park. The Community Garden located in the Park, run by a separate group, is available for neighbors to use for growing vegetables and flowers. Plots are assigned by lottery each year.

The Kingman Park Rosedale Community Garden provides the Kingman Park and Rosedale neighborhoods of Northeast Washington D.C. with a space for growing food and connecting with neighbors.

The Newark Street Community Garden works towards the promotion and support of recreational gardening among residents of the District of Columbia. It supports the cooperative endeavors as mandated by the gardeners, and provides education and technical service to gardeners and liaison between the gardening community and other interested groups and organizations.

The mission of the Washington Youth Garden at the U.S. National Arboretum is to: a) educate youth and families about the relationship between food, its origins, nutrition, and health; b) connect children (and adults) to the natural world as a place of wonder, exploration and resource for their personal growth; c) develop interpersonal skills, awareness of civic responsibility, and land stewardship; and d) expand interest and public awareness of urban gardening and gardening with children.

The Frederick Community Garden Association is a community-based non-profit organization that strives to make a positive impact on our local community and environment. The organization aims to use the members’ collective knowledge, hard work, and creativity to grow vegetables on shared and individual gardening plots using environmentally sound, and low impact gardening techniques.

Homestead Harvest is a cooperative organic vegetable garden in Baltimore’s Better Waverly neighborhood.

Howard County Conservancy is a land trust founded to help preserve the natural environment, agricultural resources, and unique historic sites. The site includes news, conservation information, history, education programs and volunteering opportunities.

The Montgomery Parks community gardens program offers Montgomery County residents the opportunity to use public space and water to garden an individual plot at low cost.

The University of the District of Columbia website gives information on Cooperative Extension Services for the Washington DC metropolitan area.

A Takoma Park, Maryland, based gardener records her experiences as she goes about maintaining her lawn and garden. She has helpful advice for selecting specific garden tools for specific purposes. The garden writer also gives tips on rain water harvesting.

The Dumbarton Oaks Garden is spread over twenty seven acres. Guided tours are available on the premises for garden enthusiasts.

Green Spring Gardens offers information and inspiration for the home gardener through an outdoor classroom for children and their families to learn about plants and wildlife. The gardens feature a naturalistic native plant garden, over 20 thematic demonstration gardens, a greenhouse filled with tropicals, and a well-stocked horticultural reference library. The gardens and educational programs focus on practical landscaping techniques that are appropriate for the Washington metro area.

The Hillwood Estate, Museums and Gardens features seven theme gardens which showcase a variety of exotic as well as native plants.

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens are spread over 95 acres and features a complex of large ornamental display gardens and unique native plant collections. Meadowlark presents gardening and horticulture workshops, tours, field trips, concerts, volunteer programs and an active endowment with opportunities to commemorate or honor loved ones while helping Meadowlark Botanical Gardens grow.

The US National Arboretum organizes events on gardening and horticulture and arranges guided tours of the featured gardens. The website contains information on pest management, state trees and plants, and schedule of events.)

The River Farm serves as the headquarters of the American Horticultural Society and is spread over 25 acres of landscaped lawns and gardens.

The United States Botanic Garden is located on the Capitol Grounds. The garden features a variety of living exhibits, including seasonal exhibits in the conservatory and Bartholdi Park, and environmental and educational features in the National Garden.

The Virginia Master Gardener Association, Inc., a nonprofit organization, is a state-wide association of Master Gardeners and Virginia Cooperative Extension employees whose mission is to foster communication, education and fellowship among Master Gardeners, and to give support and input to the state leaders of VCE.

Maryland Master Gardeners supports the University of Maryland Extension mission by educating residents about safe, effective and sustainable horticultural practices that build healthy gardens, landscapes, and communities.

The Master Gardener program and training conducted by the West Virginia University Extension Service provides gardeners with the opportunity to improve their horticultural knowledge and skills and then share their experience with the public through organized volunteer activities. The program topics covered include: botany, plant problem diagnosis, soils, ornamentals, pest management, fruits, vegetables, and plant propagation.

Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners are volunteers dedicated to working with the community to encourage and promote environmentally sound horticulture practices through sustainable landscape management educational programs.

A Northern Virginia-based Master Gardener blogs about her back yard gardening success and challenges. She also helps local schools to design organic vegetable and perennial beds.

A Washington DC based Master Gardener writes his experiences in urban gardening.

A Washington DC based studio-apartment dweller pens down his attempt at indoor gardening.

Natural Capital is a concept in environmental economics: the concept that the ecosystem that sustains and surrounds human beings has inherent, but tragically overlooked, value.

Washington Parks and People is a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring and enhancing public parks in the National Capital Region. The website also includes information on programs, getting involved, events, and special features devoted to Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park and Watts Branch Park, including photos.

The National Capital Area Garden Clubs, Inc., a member of National Garden Clubs, Inc., encompasses four districts,108 garden clubs, and approximately 3600 members within the metropolitan Washington, DC area.and 28 Plant Societies and other Affiliates. Members come together to enhance their knowledge of gardening, its beauty, and its effects.

The Calvert Garden Club gathers together gardeners for the study of horticulture; promote artistry in floral design and landscape design; aid in protection of all natural resources; encourage conservation practices in the home and community.

The Charles County Garden Club plays an integral part in developing, establishing, and maintaining beautification projects in and around Charles County, Maryland. The work of The Club has been supported by residents, businesses, non-profit organizations, and government which include elected and appointed officials from town, county, state, and federal offices.

Woodmoor Garden Club in Silver Spring, Maryland, regularly organizes meetings to update on topics, such as invasive plants, vegetable gardening, and Xeriscape gardening.

The mission of Montgomery County Master Gardeners is to educate county residents about safe, effective and sustainable horticultural practices that build healthy gardens, landscapes and communities.

Prince George’s County Community Gardens contains all the links to community projects in Prince Georg’s County.

Wootton’s Mill Park, Hurley Avenue, Rockvillle, is operated by the City of Rockville. There are 177 plots including one raised plot that is handicap accessible. The program runs from April 1, 2009 through November 13, 2009.

The King Farm Community Garden (KFCG) is a Registered Affiliate of the King Farm Citizens Assembly. The goal of the KFCG is to provide the opportunity for King Farm residents to participate in an activity that builds community spirit, provides healthy exercise and food, and improves the environment. The association works to build good relationships among its members who work together to improve and maintain the garden space and its perimeter, share ideas, seeds, and produce.

Community of Gardeners is a documentary film celebrating the roles of seven Washington, D.C. community gardens, where people of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities garden side by side, grow vegetables, fruits and flowers in community gardens.

The Bowie-Crofton Garden Club aims to promote interest in and develop skills in gardening through cooperation, joint efforts and good fellowship. Members work to stimulate interest and share knowledge on gardening, and to serve the Bowie-Crofton area through community service projects.

The Trinidad Neighborhood Association (blog of the site) is a community-based, volunteer-driven organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in the Trinidad neighborhood. The Association works to identify and address community concerns, and to promote opportunities for economic development by engaging community stakeholders.

The mission of CommonGood City Farm is to grow food, educate, and help low-income DC community members meet their food needs. Common Good City Farm’s programs provide hands-on training in food production, healthy eating and environmental sustainability. The Farm itself serves as a demonstration site to individuals, organizations and government agencies in the DC Metro area.

The Temple Garden is a community garden located in Washington, D.C., on land owned by the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple. The garden offers plots to residents for growing their own choice of plants.

The Blair Road Community Garden is spread over 5 acres and is divided into plots approximately 25′ x 25′. Gardeners are only allowed to use organic methods to grow their vegetables, herbs, and fruit.

The Green East Community Garden is split into two areas in the alley and has 30 garden plots, each 12′ x 4′, built in raised beds. The garden offers a tool shed with communal tools, bench and patio furniture, and play equipment for children.

DC’s Field to Fork Network represents urban gardeners, farmers’ markets, distribution co-operatives, food banks, local government agencies, academic institutions, nutrition educators, community organizers, and cooks. Field to Fork works to encourage the use of underutilized green space within the District for agriculture, support diversity, abundance, affordability thus, consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, expand health and economic benefits by increasing access to fresh produce, and engage participants and volunteers in outreach and educational opportunities throughout the year.

The Department of Public Works Rain Garden Resource Page provides informative material to assist Ann Arundel County residents with their rain garden project.

The Ann Arundel Community garden plots provide an opportunity for the public to grow their own vegetables, herbs and fruit. The Community Garden Advisory Committee was created to promote residential gardening throughout Anne Arundel County by developing a plan to create gardens throughout the County including opportunities for public/private partnerships, and coordinating agricultural programs to be held at the Dairy Farm.

Get complete information about the Master Gardener Program for Ann Arundel County – Here.

An Annapolis-based gardener has great tips for sustainable community living and rain gardening.

Annapolis Community Food Gardens, based in Annapolis Maryland, establishes community organic food gardens within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The organization teaches organizational groups – such as schools, churches, hospitals, residential facilities, apartment residents, and neighborhood associations – how to construct, manage, and maintain a community food garden.

Grow Annapolis is a non-profit dedicated to building a healthy sustainable community through neighborhood organic gardens and urban agriculture programs.

The Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council is a coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to researching, promoting, and educating the public about conservation-based gardening and landscaping practices in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

The Chesapeake Ecology Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and educating the public about community greening and conservation landscaping practices for the Chesapeake Bay watershed that result in a healthier and more beautiful environment benefiting residents and the region’s biological diversity.

The Crofton Village Garden Club aims to evoke member interest in horticulture, conservation, and flower arranging, and to encourage, by example, pride in local homes and the community.

The Maryland Native Plant Society’s mission is to promote awareness, appreciation, and conservation of Maryland’s native plants and their habitats. The organization pursues its mission through education, research, advocacy, and service activities.

Unity Gardens is a non-profit organization based in Anne Arundel County that supports the building of community partnerships through the creation of greening projects, environmental enhancement and education.

The RainScaping Campaign promotes a comprehensive approach to easy-to-use solutions to clean up streams, creeks, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay. RainScaping techniques such as rain gardens, native tree and shrub planting, rain barrels, and permeable pavers are proven and widely-accepted “beautiful landscaping techniques” that effectively manage stormwater runoff at the source, while protecting natural resources and providing wildlife habitat.

This page gives information about Master Gardeners program for St. Mary’s County.

Sponsored by the Virginia Cooperative Extension, the Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardeners are volunteer educators within the community who serve the public by assisting local Extension Agents to provide sound and practical gardening information to area property and homeowners.

Loudoun County Master Gardeners‘ mission is to educate residents about safe, effective and sustainable landscape management practices. Trained volunteers provide unbiased research-based horticultural information, tips, techniques and advice to the community.

The Virginia Native Plant Society (VNPS) is a non-profit organization that works to instil appreciation and conservation of Virginia’s native plants and habitats. The Society’s programs emphasize public education, protection of endangered species, habitat preservation, and encouragement of appropriate landscape use of native plants.

Blandy Experimental Farm is a 700-acre University of Virginia research which is home to the State Arboretum of Virginia, displaying more than 8,000 trees and woody shrubs. The collections include nearly half the world’s pine species, the Virginia Native Plant Trail, the Boxwood Memorial Garden, a spectacular grove of more than 300 ginkgo trees, an herb garden featuring culinary, and medicinal and ornamental herbs.

The Master Gardeners Association of Rappahannock is a group of volunteers that support the Virginia Cooperative Extension in offering horticultural-related education and assistance to the people within the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania, and Stafford and the City of Fredericksburg.

The website of Virginia Nursery & Landscape Association for garden centers, nursery growers, landscape designers, and other horticultural businesses includes news, information about events and committees, and grower resources.

The Fairfax County Master Gardeners Association, Inc. is a nonprofit organization whose volunteers provide research-based horticultural information, tips, techniques, and advice to home gardeners in Fairfax County. Volunteers receive training under the auspices of the Virginia and Fairfax County Cooperative Extension offices.

The Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia is an organization of volunteers who work with the staff of Virginia Cooperative Extension to encourage and promote environmentally sound gardening practices.

Master Gardeners of Prince William are volunteers who help a community’s citizens with their plant, landscaping, and water quality needs. The institution helps to diagnose problems with flowers, treats tree disease, and gives tips on how to get the best looking lawn — using the least amount of chemicals possible.

The Bethesda Community Garden Club works to enhance the knowledge of gardening among amateurs; to share the advantage of association through conference and correspondence in the US and overseas; to aid in the protection of native plants and birds; and to encourage civic planting.

Garden Thyme with the Creative Gardener is an educational gardening blog on garden vegetable growing in Washington, D.C.

National Cherry Blossom Festival is the official site of the annual commemoration of the gift in 1912 of 3,000 cherry trees by Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to Washington, D.C. as a memorial of national friendship between the United States and Japan. The site offers information on event schedule, history, and photographs.

Serving Maryland and surrounding states, Free State Daylily Society (FSDS) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to educate gardeners about the cultivation, display, and hybridization of the genus hemerocallis .

The La Plata Community Garden Club members share their general gardening information such as gardening articles and tips. The website offers recommendations on books and links to other web sites of

The Landscape Contractors Association provides local resources to landscape professionals in Washington DC Metropolitan Area.

The National Capital Orchid Society features information on activities, including annual orchid show and auction of the Washington, DC area club.)

The Catoctin Orchid Society is dedicated to the exchange of information relating to the culture of orchids for enthusiasts.

The Maryland Seeding Association is a trade association of seeding contractors, suppliers, and others allied to the Maryland seeding industry. The website also provides guide for grass seed.

Brookside Gardens is a 50-acre public display garden situated within Wheaton Regional Park. Included in the gardens are several distinct areas; azalea garden, rose garden, children’s garden, formal garden, fragrance garden, Japanese style garden and trial garden.

The D.C. Guerilla Gardener is a group of volunteers that stealthily turns empty gray spaces into verdant green ones.

Grow A Row is program run by Capital Area Foodbank. It is a way for gardeners to grow and donate produce to local community organizations that serve people in need. Fresh produce is an essential component of a healthy diet, but is not donated frequently enough to supply demand at soup kitchens or food pantries.

A Huntington-based gardener maintains a first-hand account of her experiments with all aspects of gardening, such as container gardening, indoor gardening and composting.

A Maryland-based gardener chronicles her experiences during gardening and experimenting with a variety of flowering plants and vegetables.)

This is a blog narrating the experiences of a Montgomery County resident in gardening.

A Washington DC based gardener and avid photographer visits various gardens in the US and posts photos on her blog. She also gives tips on garden landscaping.

Garden Buddy is a handy little App that simplifies common lawn and garden calculations. This version of Garden Buddy is for the North American market and uses inches, feet and pounds, and cubic yards as it measurement units.

Macgardens is a blog that recounts observations made by an itinerant gardener on seven acres of stony hillside in mid-Maryland. He has a mixture of fields, overgrown orchard, and natural forest where he has planted perennials and a vegetable garden.

A Virginia-based gardener maintains this informative blog on gardening.

A blog maintained by a Washington DC based landscape architect, who has a radically different perspective on natural gardening.

The Potomac Rose Society meets in eastern Virginia in the Washington, DC metro area. The website has a large document library of rose information.

The aim of Arlington Rose Foundation is to conduct educational programs for those interested in rose culture.

The Potomac-Mecklenburg Garden Club strives to promote: home and community gardening, the protection and responsible propagation of native plants, and the conservation and protection of unique wild areas.

Meadowview is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and restoring rare wetland plants, habitats and associated ecosystems on the coastal plain of Maryland and Virginia, with particular area of specialization in endangered habitat known as pitcher plant bogs or seepage wetlands. Their goal is to preserve and restore a part of the natural bog heritage by returning the endangered Yellow Pitcher Plant, Sarracenia flava, and the Purple Pitcher Plant, Sarracenia purpurea, to their historic ranges in Virginia and Maryland utilizing an integrated ecosystem restoration approach.

The Flora of Virginia Project aims to produce a comprehensive state-of-the-art manual for Virginia’s more than 3500 native and naturalized plant species.

The Digital Atlas is a searchable database of information on the Virginia Flora.

This site offers photographic keys to help diagnose and solve plant problems, using Integrated Pest Management principles.