Garden Week: A Floating National Park
4/22/202617 min
Today we visit a hidden gem of Washington, D.C.: the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, an oasis of ponds filled with lotuses and waterlilies. This unusual National Park – the only aquatic gardens that are a National Park – were first dug in the 1800s by a Civil War veteran.
This week, we’re celebrating the arrival of spring with new and classic stories about unusual gardens around the world.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with washington.org.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsKelly McEvers· Host0:01
Gina Geffrard has a very specific memory about the first time she encountered the place we're talking about today.
Gina Geffrard· Guest0:07
So in 2019, I filmed an episode of House Hunters, and one of the houses on the show is across the street from the gardens. And so I remember talking to the producers of the show, asking, "What is across the street?" And they didn't really know, so we did research, and we found out it was Kenilworth Park. You were on House Hunters?
Kelly McEvers· Host0:35
[laughs] That's our producer, Amanda, following up on the most important detail here.
Gina Geffrard· Guest0:40
I love that that's the follow-up. [laughs] But yeah, yeah, it's, it's been a while now. I filmed in 2019, and it aired in 2020, but it was a really fun experience. Yes.
Kelly McEvers· Host0:51
[gentle music] Gina was on House Hunters looking to buy in Washington, DC, specifically in the Kenilworth neighborhood, which is northeast of downtown along the Anacostia River. The neighborhood had this park that got Gina's attention. It had lots of trails. It was near the river. So pretty soon after moving in, Gina would go running and biking there. Seemed like a normal park until she started exploring.
Gina Geffrard· Guest1:19
I didn't realize what I was looking at when I first saw or entered the gardens, and even many more times after, I still didn't realize where I was.