Why do we conserve gardens? Anyone who gardens knows the fragile nature of the gardener’s creation: subject to the ravages of climate, weeds, erosion, pests, and other problems, even the most carefully designed gardens can vanish within just a few years when untended. When we lose an exceptional garden, we lose its beauty, but we also lose the lessons it can teach us about the gardener’s era—its values, horticultural science, and aesthetic standards. We conserve beautiful gardens because they are a vital part of our nation’s cultural heritage.
Experts estimate that more than two-thirds of great American gardens have already been lost to the tides of time. As the first national organization devoted to garden preservation, the Garden Conservancy is working to stem that tide by identifying gardens of unusual merit across the nation—from a desert garden in California to a Japanese garden in New York—and working with their owners and other interested parties to ensure the gardens’ futures. Some of these gardens are national treasures, while others are important community resources; all merit conservation as part of our national legacy.
How do we conserve gardens? While the gardener is able to maintain the garden, it remains vibrant. But when the gardener can no longer invest the time, energy, and resources required, the garden and its beauty can perish. Saving a fine garden requires expertise, funding, and community support—resources the Garden Conservancy brings to bear in preserving great American gardens and opening them to the public. The Garden Conservancy works in partnership with individual garden owners and public and private organizations, and uses its legal, financial, and horticultural resources to secure each garden’s future and to make it permanently accessible to the public.
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