About the SMFA Garden
The SMFA Garden is a collaborative space which supports local pollinators and seeks to cultivate artistic cross-pollination throughout the SMFA at Tufts community. The Garden was funded by the Tufts Green Fund in 2020 and established on campus in 2022.
You can learn more about the Garden on the SMFA website and on Michaela Morse's website, and follow #smfagarden on Instagram for updates (and use the hashtag on your own posts!). To get involved in garden projects, contact Lauren Kimball-Brown.
Gardening Resources
Gardening and Pollinators:
- Planting Guides | Pollinator.org
- Gardening for Pollinators
- Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation in Yards and Gardens
- Attracting Pollinators Eastern US
- Garden for Wildlife
- Humane Gardener
- Designing Gardens with Flora of the American East
- Fritz Haeg: Edible Estates
- How to Build a Bee Condo
- Dye Garden Plant List from The New England Unit of The Herb Society of America
- Tufts Pollinator Initiative
- Butterfly Leaflet (USDA)
Container Gardening:
- Pocket Humane Gardens
- Native Pollinators for Containers (Native Plant Trust video)
- Container Gardening with Native Plants (wildflower.org)
- Patio and Container Gardens
- Container Gardening with Native Plants (Habitat Acquisition Trust)
- Container Gardening (Celebrate Urban Birds/Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Native Plants and Wildflowers:
Related Guides
Garden Locations
Garden containers are located on the SMFA Library balcony and the SMFA atrium balcony.
The atrium balcony is accessible daily from 8 am to 6 pm, except in inclement weather. Re-enter the atrium through the door with the black strap on the push bar.
The library balcony is accessible when the library is open. Just ask a library staff member to unlock the door for you!
About the Plants
The SMFA Garden includes a mix of perennial native wildflowers and pollinator-friendly herbs and vegetables.
Atrium balcony
Wildflowers:
- Aquilegia canadensis (red columbine)
- Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower)
- Eutrochium maculatum (spotted Joe Pye weed)
- Helenium autumnale (sneezeweed)
- Helianthus divaricatus (woodland sunflower)
- Penstemon digitalis (foxglove beardtongue)
- Rudbeckia laciniata (tall coneflower)
- Solidago flexicaulis (zig zag goldenrod)
- Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (New England aster)
Herbs:
- Cota tinctoria (dyer’s chamomile)
- Origanum vulgare (oregano)
Vegetables:
- Beta vulgaris (rainbow chard)
- Brassica oleracea (collard greens)
- Brassica oleracea (dino kale)
- Brassica rapa (Tokyo bekana)
Library balcony
Wildflowers:
- Aquilegia canadensis (red columbine)
- Fragaria virginica (common strawberry)
Herbs:
- Allium schoenoprasum (chives)
- Melissa officinalis (lemon balm)
- Mentha × piperita (mint)
Seed Library at the SMFA Library
The Seed Library at the SMFA Library is a collection of seeds available to members of the SMFA and Tufts communities and other SMFA Library users. Visit the Seed Library guide to learn more!