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Shakespeare Garden

This charming garden in the English cottage-garden style exhibits plants mentioned in the Bard's poems and plays. It is set on a sloping bank framed by a serpentine wall.

Shakespeare Garden

A special donation from Henry C. Folger, founder of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., paved the way for the construction of the original Shakespeare Garden in 1925. Located in the south field of the Children's Garden, it comprised a collection of herbs, flowers, shrubs, and trees flanking a flagstone path. A wooden bench nestling among the greenery completed the peaceful setting.

Over the years, the surrounding Austrian pines shaded out the garden. It was decided in 1977 that a better location would have to be found.

The new Shakespeare Garden, situated north of the Fragrance Garden, opened in June 1979. An oval brick path, lined on either side with flower beds, leads into the garden, and a teak bench and fountain help create the atmosphere of an English cottage garden of Elizabethan times. More than 80 of the plants mentioned in the works of Shakespeare grow here, with spring bulbs being the first to appear as the winter wanes. Common or Shakespearean names, the botanical name, references for relevant quotations and, in some cases, a graphic representation of the plant, are displayed on labels.

Following is a list of plants in the Shakespeare Garden:

Historic Image Collection

Historic photograph of the Shakespeare Garden

View historic photographs of the Shakespeare Garden from the Historic Image Collection.

Map of the Garden

The Shakespeare Garden is indicated by the orange box. Click on the map to visit other locations in the Garden, or click here to view a larger map.

Key Map of the Fragrance Garden
Discovery Garden Children's Garden Lily Pool Terrace Steinhardt Conservatory Perennial Border Rock Garden Plant Family Collection Annual Border Bluebell Wood Crape-Myrtle Lilac Cranford Rose Garden Cranford Rose Garden Home Composting Exhibit Native Flora Garden Osborne Garden The Overlook Cherry Esplanade herb Garden Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden Celebrity Path Shakespeare Garden Fragrance Garden Magnolia Plaza Daffodil Hill