VISITING THE U.S. BOTANIC GARDEN CONSERVATORY- WASHINGTON, DC
OK folks, I know it’s the dead of winter and it’s not really time to think about gardening and all, but I’m on a roll here, so please bear with me.
Remember how I told you in a previous post that I got a greenhouse for Christmas? Well, now that I am the proud owner of my very own greenhouse, I thought it would be nice to visit the Botanical Gardens while we were in Washington, DC for Christmas. It is the greenhouse to beat all greenhouses! I thought it would give me some inspiration for developing my own greenhouse.
So, off we went for a little family outing. Wild horses wouldn’t drag my 16-year-old Austin to see it, but my 10-month-old granddaughter loved every minute of it, and so did I! I think you’ll like it too.
The Conservatory is located just down the street from the U.S Capitol Building.
We visited a couple days after Christmas, so the gardens were all decked out for the Holidays. I know we have all had our fill of Christmas by now, but I just had to give you one last glimpse of holiday and I promise to move on. After all, it will be Valentine’s Day before we know it!
Anyway, the gardens were all dressed up with poinsettias……
topiary-teddy-bears and trains……
There were Christmas trees……
and more Christmas trees, and garlands galore.
But the real reason I wanted to visit was to see the displays of our nation’s monuments in miniature. During the holiday season, the U.S. Botanic Garden presents incredible replicas of Washington, DC’s most famous buildings, all in miniature, and all covered in organic materials. They start with a replica of their own building.
Using foam board covered in plant material, they created this magnificent replica of the U.S. Capitol Building.
They placed the Capitol Building at one end of a replica of the National Mall.
The Lincoln Memorial, complete with a statue of Abraham Lincoln…
was situated as it is in real life…
at one end of the Reflecting Pool.
And, a replica of the Washington Monument was placed at the other end of the Reflecting Pool.
There was a fine replica of the Supreme Court Building…
and a replica of the Library of Congress.
I made my son, Taylor, pose for a photo in front of that building because, believe it or not, he spent his junior year of high school going to school in the Library of Congress. He was a Congressional Page.
The Page School was located on the very top floor of the building…
with classrooms that overlooked the Capitol. They attended school very early in the morning and served Congress afterward, often until very late at night.
As a U.S Congressional Page, Taylor lived in a dormitory on Capitol Hill…
and then served our Representatives on the floor of the House.
It was an amazing experience for him, and one that every junior in high school should look into. One of these days I’ll write a post in more detail about the Page Program, but right now, I’ll get back to the Botanic Garden. There was also had a replica of the National Museum of the American Indians on display. It is made of cork and fungi.
That museum is located right next the the Botanic Garden so afterward we walked over to see it.
It is a kind of undulating building, surrounded by a lovely fountain.
In the Botanic Garden, we also saw cacao trees (photo on the right) and papaya trees bearing ripe fruit in winter…
and coffee trees…
and citrus trees…
a Tea Tree…
and a Vanilla Plant.
There were these amazing carnivorous plants called Nepenthes Alata…
which are native to the Philippines. They are carnivores, consuming small bugs, flies and spiders.
There was a tropical rain forest…
and orchids of every description.
The Hawaiian section had a waterfall and tropical ferns…….
and the desert display was full of unusual cacti.
So, as I look back on my day at the Botanic Garden, I’m not sure if I’m feeling motivated to get started on my own greenhouse garden or if I’m feeling overwhelmed. The Botanic Garden is a hard act to follow! I’ll keep you posted!
All opinions expressed in this post are my own. All photos are the original property of Celia Becker @ www.AfterOrangeCounty.com and may not be reproduced without specific permission.
