[6] It is named for Enid A. Haupt, who provided the $3 million endowment which financed its construction and maintenance.

[1][2][3] Initially approached with a request that she finance a small Zen garden within the quadrangle, after a review of the plans Haupt said that she was "not interested in putting money into a Zen garden...I'm only interested in financing the whole thing.

"[7] The quadrangle redesign project and the Smithsonian Gardens more broadly were part of the vision of the eighth Secretary of the Smithsonian, S. Dillon Ripley, who felt that the museum experience should extend beyond the museums' buildings into the outdoor spaces.

[5] The landscape design of the garden featured the collaborative efforts of architect Jean Paul Carlhian, principal in the Boston firm of Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson and Abbott; Lester Collins; Sasaki Associates Inc. of Watertown, Massachusetts; and James R. Buckler, founding director of the Smithsonian's Office of Horticulture.

[2][4] The parterre measures 144 feet long by 66 feet wide; the low-growing plants that fill out the series of diamonds, fleurs-de-lis, and scallops or swags that make up the design are changed every six months, typically in September and May.