In 1920, after a long and careful search, Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss found their ideal country house and garden within Washington, DC. They eventually 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 garden. 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. The upper sixteen acres were transferred to Harvard University in 1940 to establish a research institute for Byzantine Studies, Pre-Columbian Studies, and Garden and Landscape Studies.
Plan Your Visit
The gardens are open Tuesday–Sunday, 3:00–6:00 p.m., except for federal holidays. See Hours and Admission for more information. The gardens may close in hazardous conditions.
Timed tickets are required for visitors to the gardens, unless you have a season pass. Admission is $7, plus taxes and fees. Harvard ID holders should contact gardenvisitor@doaks.org.
Planning to visit frequently? Save on admission by purchasing a season pass. Rates are:
- $75 Individual Season Pass
- $95 Double Season Pass
- $110 Family Season Pass
Learn more about Dumbarton Oaks’ response to COVID-19, opportunities to visit virtually, and plans to reopen safely.
A Century in the Gardens
The Garden Centennial recognizes a century of stewardship and preservation of the Dumbarton Oaks Gardens through celebrations and exhibits. We will explore the different ways the gardens and landscape as a work of art has been utilized, with thoughts on the next hundred years. Using digitally accessible materials, curatorial newsletters, and in-person exhibitions, the Garden Centennial commemorates one of the most beautiful gardens in the world.
South Lawn
Orangery
