During the early 20th century, women helped cultivate a new awareness of America’s natural and designed landscapes. Gardening and working with nature had long been viewed as acceptable pursuits for women within their traditional roles as guardians of domestic life. However, many unheralded pioneers went beyond such traditions to shape new roles for themselves—as amateurs and professionals, advocates and practitioners—and to contribute in diverse ways to the thoughtful stewardship of the land.

In addition to gardening and practicing landscape design, these women led garden, design, and environmental organizations; taught nature study to schoolchildren; and contributed to the field as writers, photographers, and illustrators. They were wealthy patrons, middle-class housewives, and working-class and immigrant women and girls. Despite their different backgrounds, they shared a belief in the critical role of the landscape in American life and culture.

Forget Me Not, a collaboration with the Smithsonian’s Horticulture Services Division, explores the interactions and networks that developed as these women strove to define and shape the American landscape. Graphic reproductions of rarely seen photographs, artwork, and ephemera from the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Gardens and other national collections are complemented by case-mounted objects that add depth to a fascinating story that has parallels with today’s green movement.

5 freestanding units with reproductions of photographs, illustrations, and documents with text; 3-4 props

Minnie Micu, 202.633.3160 (Scheduling)
Deborah Macanic, 202.633.3101 (Content)