The Turf Garden

Plant, Grow, Watch & Learn!

The Turf Garden opened in April 2008 to help learn to grow better plants that are easier to care for.   The best way to learn is to watch plants grow.  In The Turf Garden, you’ll discover hundreds of species, sub-species, varieties, and cultivars of grasses, grains, legumes, vegetables, and lots more – including weeds – to observe and understand what they look like, how they grow and what limits their growth.

So What is a Turf Garden?

Observing the differences in grasses and the many plants used for gardens, landscapes and feeding animals has provided our culture with overwhelming benefits for centuries. The first plots of grasses arranged to be watched and studied for their valuable uses were sowed and sodded in special plantings at various location along the east coast. These plots were called turf gardens.

One of the first turf gardens belonged to James B. Olcott, a founding member of the University of Connecticut. In his travels around the world, he collected different types of grass and transplanted them to his Connecticut home. Olcott divided the grass types into 4' x 4' plots in which he could easily observe the differences between individual plants. From 1885 to 1910, Olcott’s “Grass Turf Garden” contained over 500 strains of grass plants that were meticulously observed and evaluated for their characteristics. Through curiosity and devotion, Olcott and others became pioneering scientists in what was to become a common thread in our American culture…the American lawn.

The concept of simple observation of grasses with the goal of increasing their useable value eventually was adopted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and yielded the first official turf garden located at the Arlington Experimental Station in Virginia.  Simple observation of desirable traits, along with appropriate care of the different grasses, began to make it possible for sound recommendations to feed the growing trend of cultivating attractive and functional turf areas. Over the past 80 years, turf gardens have evolved into the many university turfgrass research programs that continue to offer valuable solutions for growing lawns and recreational turf today. The turf garden concept is a chapter in American history that highlights the benefits of watching and learning how plants grow.

Our Turf Garden is used study and learn about plants. The garden also provides a great place for groups to gather such as for Thursday afternoon readings about American History. Join us in the Turf Garden to watch plants grow, attend classes, and experience American readings. We look forward to learning with you. Check out what we’ve been up to.