Mount Vernon is privately owned and will remain open in the case of a government shutdown.
Open 365 days a year, Mount Vernon is located just 15 miles south of Washington DC.
From the mansion to lush gardens and grounds, intriguing museum galleries, immersive programs, and the distillery and gristmill. Spend the day with us!
Discover what made Washington "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen".
The Mount Vernon Ladies Association has been maintaining the Mount Vernon Estate since they acquired it from the Washington family in 1858.
Need help with homework? Our Digital Encyclopedia has all of the answers students and teachers need.
The Washington Library is open to all researchers and scholars, by appointment only.
These gorgeous native plants bloom in a variety of colors and sizes, including pale yellow, oranges, and golds. Some are grown merely for their beauty while others, such as the Mammoth sunflower, are grown for their seeds.
Dense mounds of tiny fragrant white flowers form a spreading carpet under large perennials and annuals in the spring border.
Sweet potatoes are vigorous, running plants that will easily exceed their allotted space in the garden if not kept under control. They should be grown in mounds, much the way one would grow potatoes. They are extremely cold sensitive and should be planted after the soil has warmed in the spring and harvested…
This old-fashioned biennial with its cheerful pink and white blossoms in the late spring is a mainstay of cottage gardens.
Swiss chard is a leafy green that can be harvested continually to be used in salads or cooked. Its leaves may be plain green or have red midribs.
Peanuts are small leguminous plants with many bright yellow flowers. They form their fruits underground and they should be harvested in the fall when the plant begins to yellow.
This plant is used for the production of its leaves, which provide the tobacco which goes into cigarettes, cigars and other forms. It can also be used as an ornamental, with its dramatic height and delicate pink flowers
Turnips are a cool season root vegetable. They produce a large purple and white bulbous taproot which have historically been a winter staple. They can be roasted, mashed, or eaten raw.
Virginia White Gourdseed corn is an exceptionally tall variety that produces very firm kernels which are best suited to milling or use as a feed corn.
Wallflowers are a charming spring bloomer of exceptional hardiness. With yellow and red flowers, this cheerful annual adds vibrancy to the front and middle of the flower border.
Watermelon plants are vigorous, vining plants which need to be given quite a bit of space to ramble in. They produce large melons of varying sizes and colors, depending on the variety.
Bird peppers are large plants, easily growing to 6 feet over the course of a season. They thrive in the heat of the year and produce masses of tiny red peppers with a lot of heat and excellent flavor.
This common cereal grain is used in distilling, as animal fodder, for cooking, and is also used as a cover crop.
Crookneck squash grow in a dense, leafy clump and produce many yellow squashes which need to be harvested nearly every day. They are susceptible to most squash pests, including squash bugs, powdery mildew, and squash vine borers.
