Explore
With 127 acres of arboretum, 6-acres of outdoor managed gardens and a 12,000 square foot conservatory, we invite you to explore the natural world through our extensive plant collections. Plant collections are central to what botanic gardens do and for many reasons. At the Botanic Garden of Smith College, more than 7,000 documented, labeled and mapped plants represent a broad selection of native and non-native species, ranging from cultivars of landscape plants to wild collected species with provenance that underpins our conservation efforts.
Campus Arboretum
No element of the botanic garden underscores the integration of our collections with the campus landscape better than the arboretum. Visitors will find that almost every planted tree, shrub and woody vine on campus has a botanic garden label that shares its identity, botanical family and provenance.
The role of botanic gardens and arboreta grows in importance as the challenges of conserving the value and resilience of the natural communities that our plants represent intensify. We look to build collections that support the natural systems that our campus is situated within and protect the genetic diversity plant populations need to thrive.
Learn more about our campus arboretum.
Outdoor Gardens
Our landscape contains numerous named gardens, each built to provide both a sense of place as well as tools and inspiration for learning. These spaces integrate our history with our vision for the future as a leader in conservation and education. Our gardens and the elements within them allow visitors to explore the beauty and diversity of the botanical world as well as their relationships to each other, to humanity, and to the complex living environments that they naturally occur in today.
Exhibits
The botanic garden showcases exhibits regularly. Throughout Lyman Plant House you’ll find both temporary and permanent exhibits. Our temporary exhibits serve as an educational opportunity through art that features a variety of botanical and horticultural themes, as well as on social and environmental issues.
Annual Flower Shows
For the last hundred years, Smith College traditions have included two seasonal shows in the Lyman Conservatory. Each spring is welcomed with the Spring Bulb Show beginning the first Saturday in March, and every autumn was celebrated with a Fall Chrysanthemum Show, which began the first Saturday in November. (In 2024, the botanic garden put on a final Fall Mum Show to make way for a new era of botanical exhibits.)