National Public Gardens Day

 

May 8 is the 128th day of the year. Just another day, right? Well, if you’re a survivor of the Greatest Generation, May 8 is a special day, or at least it was in 1945—VE Day!

If you’re Don Rickles, May 8 is special—it’s his birthday!

If you had been living in the Martinique village of St. Pierre in 1902, May 8 was a special day—your last, buried by pyroclastic flows from erupting Mount Pelee.

May 8, 2009 in the U.S., however, is National Public Gardens Day, a day to celebrate and raise awareness of our public gardens and their role in education, in promoting environmental stewardship and plant and water conservation.

The nonprofit American Public Gardens Association (APGA), in partnership with Rain Bird, are committed to celebrating the environmental stewardship of North America’s public gardens and their local, regional and national leadership in resourcing the nation’s conservation and environmental education needs.

National Public Gardens Day celebrates all public gardens, botanical gardens, educational gardens, specialty gardens, entertainment gardens, arboreta, farm gardens, historical landscapes and zoos. Each institution participates in their own way. Many of the nation’s public gardens will mark the day with special events and activities for schools, families and thousands of visitors to explore and discover their local public garden, while learning about each garden’s commitment to education, research and environmental stewardship.