Gardens
In 1920, after a long and careful search, Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss found their ideal country house and garden within Washington, DC. They purchased a fifty-three-acre property, described as an old-fashioned house standing in rather neglected grounds, at the highest point of Georgetown. Within a year the Blisses hired landscape gardener Beatrix Farrand to design the gardens. Working in happy and close collaboration for almost thirty years, Mildred Bliss and Beatrix Farrand planned every garden detail, each terrace, bench, urn, and border.
Since that time, other architects working with Mildred Bliss, most notably Ruth Havey and Alden Hopkins, changed certain elements of the Farrand design. The gardens have also changed in function. In 1940, Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss gave the upper sixteen acres to Harvard University to establish a research institute for Byzantine studies, Pre-Columbian studies, and studies in the history of gardens and landscape architecture. They gave the lower, more naturalistic twenty-seven acres to the United States government to be made into a public park. An additional ten acres was sold to build the Danish Embassy.
In 1941, anticipating the inevitable changes that would accompany the gardens' different function, Farrand began to write a Plant Book, to define her design intentions and suggest appropriate maintenance practices. Her suggestions for stewardship still prove useful today, more than sixty years later.
Further Information
Hours & Admission
The entrance to the gardens is at R and 31st Streets, two blocks east of Wisconsin Avenue, in Georgetown.
Open daily except Mondays.
Closed during inclement weather, federal holidays, and Christmas eve.
March 15–October 31: 2–6pm
$8.00 admission
$5.00 children and senior citizens
Garden season passes:
$55 individual, $75 double, $85 family
Season passes for the garden can be ordered by downloading this form and mailing it to the address on the form. For questions about season passes, please email Helen Hubbard-Davis.
November 1–March 14: 2–5pm
free admission
Please note: Gates are locked at closing time.
Prices, open hours, and holiday closings are subject to change without notice.
The facilities of Dumbarton Oaks are not available for the activities of outside groups or individuals.
For additional information: Call 202-339-6401 or send us an email.
Directions
Metrobus routes 30, 32, 34, 36, D2, D4, M12 come within two blocks of the garden entrance. On-street parking is available for up to two hours on weekdays and is unlimited on Sundays.
If you have questions about accessibility, please call the Office of the Director, 202-339-6410.
Docent Tours
Guided tours for the gardens are available and must be arranged in advance. Call 202-339-6409 for information or contact the Docent Coordinator, Christine Blazina.