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Plant connections herb garden 1

Plant Connections: The Herb Garden

September 23, 2021

On view through October 2021, a new program series aims to draw visitors closer to the gardens. New plant labels in the Herb Garden include more than the typical information: a plant’s scientific name, common name, plant family and native range. Thirteen green tags indicate stops on a temporary audio guide—Plant Connections: The Herb Garden.

Within the walls of the Herb Garden, visitors recognize they have their own stories to tell of using plants for culinary, medicinal or ornamental purposes. There is something unusually relatable about these herbs, something that brings out these connections more than in any other garden area. This audio-guided experience was inspired by visitors and their moments of plant connection.

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Allison sharing her journey of learning to love chard, a colorful, leafy vegetable. Photo: Joshua Bright.
Within the walls of the Herb Garden, visitors recognize they have their own stories to tell of using plants for culinary, medicinal or ornamental purposes. There is something unusually relatable about these herbs, something that brings out these connections more than in any other garden area. This audio-guided experience was inspired by visitors and their moments of plant connection.


Our own “ruin garden,” the Herb Garden sits within the stone foundation of what, during the property’s days as a private estate, was the estate’s glasshouses for growing out-of-season vegetables and flowers. Today, our educational garden is made up of 88 individual beds, with containers and room-like beds rotating on the outside of the foundation. An intimate area with a small footprint, the Herb Garden is packed to the brim with over 100 different species of familiar and unfamiliar edible, medicinal and textile plants.
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Example of how stops on the audio guide are labeled. Punch in stop 12 to hear Martha’s story about basil.

If you are unable to visit Wave Hill, we invite you to enjoy the audio guide remotely at wavehill.oncell.com. While onsite at Wave Hill, use your cellphone to call 718.841.0149. When prompted, enter your stop number. Green tags mark the stop numbers throughout the Herb Garden.

Plant Connections: The Herb Garden concludes Sunday, October 31. Plant Connections: Tropical Plants Here & Home premieres in February, 2022, in the Tropical House. If you are interested in sharing a story for this upcoming audio guide, please contact Jess Brey at jess.brey@wavehill.org.

Jess Brey,
Ruth Rea Howell Senior Horticultural Interpreter

Top photo: Hilda at work on her story about borage, an edible flower with a melon-like flavor. Photo: Joshua Bright.