Arboretum in Northeast Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Friendship Garden
The Friendship Garden captures the spirit of a wild meadow, with wide swaths of grasses, perennials, and ferns. Designed to be low maintenance and environmentally friendly, the Friendship Garden celebrates a naturalistic garden aesthetic.
The front portion of the Friendship Garden opened in 1987. Support from the National Garden Clubs, Inc. allowed for the development of the rear garden in 1991 by Wolfgang Oehme and James van Sweden. The pair pioneered the New American Garden movmeent, characterized by expansive dynamic waves of colorful perennials and ornamental grasses.
In 2019, landscape architect Claudia West led a complete plant community-based redesign of the front garden, which builds upon the foundations that Oehme and van Sweden laid nearly thirty years before.
[Caption:]
Perennial plants fill the Friendship Garden, returning year after year.
Erected by U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Horticulture & Forestry • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1987.
Location. 38° 54.739′ N, 76° 58.285′ W.
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Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Upper South, in the Mid-Atlantic, in the Tidewater, and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Keep It Clean! (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Foeniculum vulgare (about 400 feet away); Hesperis matronalis (about 400 feet away); Lysimachia punctata (about 400 feet away); Adiantum padatum (about 400 feet away); Arctium lappa (about 400 feet away); Verbascum thapsus (about 400 feet away); Malus 'Roxbury' (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Northeast Washington.
Additional keywords. landscape
Credits. This page was last revised on November 1, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 1, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 9 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 1, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
