The Experimental Garden

The experimental garden at the Harriet Irving Botanical Garden is the second walled garden, located just outside the research greenhouses. This garden is not accessible to the public but can be viewed from the West Pavilion. The experimental garden is used by researchers who do not need to grow their plants under controlled environmental conditions. Most research is done during the active growing season, however some of the plants here are used for long term phrenology studies and benefit from the full range of seasons.

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There are eight narrow beds containing different soils from each habitat represented in the garden. These beds allow researchers to study plants in their true soil types. They are also used to compare how plant characteristics change when grown on different soil types.

There are four wider beds filled with general garden soil. These are used by staff to grow smaller plants collected for the botanical garden before planting them in the habitats. They are also used to over-winter research plants used in the greenhouses in summer.