#garden history

Carrot top of the morning to you. 

In the Victorian era, whimsical seed cards like this one were all the rage, inspiring people to buy seeds and collect the cards that came with them. 

Along with being collectors’ items, seed and nursery cards document the history of U.S. agricultural business and advertising. They tell a story about how American gardening has been shaped by history, social attitudes, the environment and innovation. 

What story do you think this gentleman would tell? 

Dig into history in our new exhibition “Cultivating America’s Gardens” from @smithsonianlibraries and@smithsoniangardens, open through August 2018 at our National Museum of American History.