Apr 30 – Jun 23, 2024

Fun Time by Wei Liang, Potomac Valley Watercolorists

In the Horticulture Center

Snapdragon by Deborah Taylor, Studio 10

Potomac Valley Watercolorists—A Celebration of Watercolor

We invite you to attend the Artist Reception:
Sunday, May 5, 1-3 pm in the Horticulture Center.

In the Historic House

Studio 10—Natural Colors, mixed media
Camille Kouyoumdjian—Flora and Fauna, mixed media

Meadowlark Morning by Camille Koumoumdjian

OPEN HOURS
Horticulture Center: Mon-Sat, 9 am–4:30 pm; Sun, noon– 4:30 pm
Historic House: Wed-Sun, noon–4:30 pm

Art displayed is for sale and supports the preservation of the Historic House and the implementation of arts and interpretive exhibits at Green Spring Gardens. The FROGS Arts Committee manages the exhibits and runs year-round at the Horticulture Center and Historic House. Each group or artist displays for 8 weeks. 

Please Note: Venues are sometimes unavailable due to other park activities. Please call Green Spring at 703.642.5173 to be certain the exhibit is available for viewing when you visit.

Exhibiting at Green Spring

We are currently booked through 2024. We are accepting indications of interest for 2025. Green Spring does not charge artists a fee to exhibit; however, there is a 30% minimum commission required on all sold works. Artworks must be for sale. Artworks must be original works based on horticultural themes, fauna/nature themes, or regional nature landscapes or landscapes of buildings/monuments of local, historic interest.

A Survey of Interest and Date Availability will be emailed to all artists/groups who have expressed an interest in a 2025 show by February 1, 2024. All returned Survey of Interest and Date Availability applications will be reviewed in March 2024 to determine which artists/groups will fit our show dates and space availability for 2025. We will offer contracts to these artists/groups. Please note: There are often more applications than the number of show slots and we cannot guarantee anyone /any group a show in 2025 but we will make a best effort to fit artists into a future year.

For further information or if you are interested in exhibiting at Green Spring, please send an email to the Art in the Garden coordinator: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Art Show History

Art in the Garden has roots in the Historic House, occupied by the Arts Council of Fairfax County prior to 1990. When the Council left, there were not enough employees to keep the house open, and then-Park Authority Board member Dorothy Norpel asked the Park Manager if she could run it, staffing it with volunteers. “She said, ‘yes!’ and gave me the key", Ms. Norpel said.

The Arts Council had installed track lighting, so she decided to start her own art program, named “Art in the Garden,” displaying mostly art of flora and fauna nature, in keeping with the park’s mission. “We were not very good in the beginning,” she said, “but got better and better over time.” Other organizations such as the National Arboretum called her asking for advice on starting their own program.

Ms. Norpel wanted a gift shop; with no funds to buy anything for the shop, garden clubs provided items for sale, sold on commission. This continued until 1994, when the Historic House was condemned and closed, until, at Ms. Norpel’s urging, county funds were identified to repair. The new Horticulture Center was built and was dedicated, along with the re-dedication of the Historic House, in 1995.