J.C. Raulston not only founded the arboretum at North Carolina State University that now bears his name, but he was also a highly accomplished gay horticulturist who cultivated a community of LGBTQ gardeners.

J.C. is considered to have "[introduced] and [promoted] more plants into contemporary horticulture than anyone else during the latter part of the 20th century." He challenged the U.S. nursery industry to drastically expand the variety of plants grown and sold. He even gave away plants and encouraging growers to take propagation cuttings directly from plants at the arboretum.

In 1978, Raulston created the Lavandula and Labiatae Society to create a space for gay and lesbian people in horticulture to connect without forcing them to compromise their identities. By 1990, 300 people from 34 states were members of the society.

The National Arboretum was recently named the fourth most unique wedding venue in the United States by Brides.

Weddings and private events at the National Arboretum are run by FONA in partnership with MTG Hospitality. Our venue rental program offers an array of wedding packages that allow couples to choose between a number of catering partners and location options.

In addition to providing critical support for both the Arboretum's and FONA's missions, revenue from our weddings and private events directly supports our DC community.

The 19 weddings we hosted in 2021 brought in just under $1 million in revenue to our event partners, all of whom are local and diverse small businesses. This includes the corners of the hospitality industry that were hardest hit by the pandemic, such as florists, wedding planners, and caterers.

As our venue rental program grows, so too does our community impact. We have over 30 weddings booked for 2022, and are now accepting bookings for 2023.

Thank you to everyone who attended our Juneteenth in the Garden event in Washington Youth Garden! We enjoyed celebrating the foods of Juneteenth with a cooking demonstration by Chef Daoud Harris from Six Street Eats. During your next visit to the youth garden, explore what kinds of African diaspora crops we are growing this year.

We had a blast hosting over 360 runners and walkers at our Summer 5K this weekend! We particularly enjoyed partnering with the Masjid Muhammad community to help celebrate the mosque's 85th anniversary.

This event would not have been possible without our amazing partners: Pacers Running managed the race, The Rounds provided coffee and snacks, and CVS Pharmacy provided race giveaways.

Need motivation to start training? Register now for our Fall 5K on Saturday, November 12th. Register before October 16th to receive a race t-shirt and early-bird pricing.

Movie in the Meadow: Calamity

Sundays this summer, 10 AM - 11 AM

Find your flow with Bluebird Sky Yoga

Various dates and times