Many public horticulture institutions across the country have invested in installing garden areas specifically for children and families. To truly achieve the common goals of education, entertainment, and facilitating a connection between the visitor and the natural world through these garden areas, proper educational programming is essential. The purpose of this thesis research was to define specific aspects of the educational programs that should be present in a national children and family garden model and to develop recommendations for educational programs in the American Horticultural Society’s future Family Discovery Garden.

A mixed methods approach of data collection formed the basis of the research methods. The information collected included, the wants and needs of the local public in Alexandria, VA, the forward-thinking ideas from children’s gardening experts, and the programming formats that are currently found to be effective by public garden educators across the country. This information was collected through discussion groups with local parents and educators, garden visitor online and intercept surveys, public horticulture institution case studies, and interviews with recognized experts in the field of outdoor educational programming for children and families.

The resulting 50 data themes were organized into the seven categories of planning and mission, staffing, audience, program formats, program features, program topics, and desired outcomes of programs.