Smith College Botanical Gardens and other Northampton, MA Things to Do Tips

Smith College has an very impressive set of botanic gardens spread across the campus, with the majority concentrated around or near the Botanic Garden exhibit hall, which traces the history of the garden and explains the thinking behind some of the displays. Outside, they have gardens which focus on themes such as wildflowers and ferns, as well as a rock garden. The systematics garden arranges plants by their family, so that resemblances can be seen (the small Capen garden, in another part of the campus, has a display with multiple examples of the same plant side-by-side, which gives a very vivid sense of the variations). Inside, the various conservatory rooms focus on succulents (cacti and similar plants, some of them highly unusual), tropical plants, orchids and so on. There are plants from all across the globe, including a surprisingly large section from Australia/New Zealand, and some exceptionally strange rock-resembling succulents from southern Africa. This is an extremely worthwhile stop while in Northampton.

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Phone: (413) 585-2740
Address: 15 College Lane, Northampton, MA 01063
Website: http://www.smith.edu/garden/