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Perspectives on Gardens in the American Context

Event
A woman in a pink top and white skirt plays croquette in a manicured yard with a small boy in a red and white sweater. In the foreground, a short brick wall surrounded by reddish-orange flowers, and in the background, a number of shrubs and climbing vines adorn the wall of a white one-story house

Thu., March 12, 2026, 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m.

General: $25; Society of Fellows, Members & Readers: $15 (students and research fellows free) | Optional lunch: $20 (each day)

Rothenberg Hall

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This one-day symposium explores the definition of American gardens, as well as their role as cultural archives.
Conferences

As part of The Huntington’s THIS LAND IS… programming commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence, this symposium explores the role of gardens in the American experience, from the founders who were avid horticulturists to the role of botanical gardens in shaping a more sustainable, biodiverse, and healthier future. The program brings together scholars, garden directors, and public intellectuals for a day of thought-provoking presentations and conversation plus a tour of the newly landscaped Oak Meadow followed by free time to visit The Huntington’s renowned gardens. Hosted by The Huntington’s director of research, Susan Juster, and gardens director, Nicole Cavender, the presenters include Natalia Molina (USC), Danika Cooper (UC Berkeley), Joy Columbus (Smithsonian Gardens), Sandy Masuo (The Huntington), and keynote speaker Andrea Wulf, author of Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation.

Key Details

  • Symposium registration includes general admission to The Huntington.
  • Lunch reservations close on March 9 at noon. A limited number of lunch tickets will be available for purchase at the conference.

For questions about this event, email researchconference@huntington.org or call (626) 405-3432.

Top image: Maynard L. Parker, Suburban Development Model Shoot, Southern California, 1945–46. Color transparency, 5 × 4 in. The Huntington, Gift of Ann Carawan, Elizabeth Buxton, and Diane Parker Carawan, 1995, photCL MLP 2222. Copyright Maynard L. Parker, photographer.

Conference Schedule

Thursday, March 12

8:30 a.m. | Registration and coffee 

9: a.m. | Welcome

  • Nicole Cavender and Susan Juster (The Huntington)

9:15 a.m. | Session 1: What is a garden in the American context?

  • Nicole Cavender and Sandy Masuo (The Huntington)
    “The Origins and Purpose of Botanical Gardens”
  • Danika Cooper (Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, UC Berkeley) 
    “On Dry Ground: Infrastructures of Control and the Making of American Desert Landscapes” 

10:45 a.m. | Break

11 a.m. | Session 2: Garden Archives and “The Missing Story”

  • Moderator: Sandy Masuo (The Huntington)
  • Joy Columbus (Director of Smithsonian Gardens, home of the American Gardens Archive)  
    “Preserving and Sharing Garden Stories- Smithsonian Gardens Archives”
  • Natalia Molina (Distinguished University Professor of Ethnic Studies, USC) 
  • Nicole Cavender (Telleen/Jorgensen Director of the Botanical Gardens, The Huntington)

12:30 p.m. | Lunch

1:45 p.m. | Keynote

  • Andrea Wulf (author of Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation (2011))  

3 p.m. | Tour of Oak Meadow