The U.S. Botanic Garden

A business trip to Washington DC during Thanksgiving week for my husband had me tagging along and I knew the conservatory of the U.S. Botanic Garden had to be at the top of my must-see list.  Neal's schedule allowed just enough time for him to join me.  It was fun to be tourists in a city we know so well even if only for a few hours.  The gardens and conservatory are literally in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol and quite a striking sight.  The gardens were founded in 1816 and the conservatory was built by Lord & Burnham in 1933.

The week of Thanksgiving was very cold so a beautiful indoor garden tour was welcomed.  This was our first visit to this building. That might seem a bit surprising since we lived here for many years but, like most residents of the area, neither of us had much free time back in those days.

The lobby decked out for the holidays.  Picasaweb automatically added the twinkle and I decided to leave this one in.

Inside the warm, humid conservatory the cold camera initially fogged up...

 ... so we headed first to the drier desert garden rooms while the camera warmed up.

Not quite as festive but interesting to see so many plants we grow out in the yard featured under glass here.

At first I thought we'd just spend a few minutes but seeing native Texas plants on display surprised me so I took a closer look.  This is Texas False Agave or Hechtia texensis.  It's hardy to 20F.  I'll have to look for this one though it is apparently rare on the market.

Some of the common names were a surprise too.   I've never seen "Finestem Tussock Grass" applied to Mexican Feather Grass.  It is still tagged Nasella tenuissima though some sites have returned it to Stipa tenussima.

Silvery plants are always worthy of a pause.

A rare bit of sunshine broke through for a few minutes.

This Ferocious Blue Cycad is one of four plants remaining from the original collection at the gardens. Collected sometime between 1838 and 1845 it is at least 165 years old.

With the lens defogged it was back to the main rooms and the famous monuments rendered in natural materials for the holiday display.

The Washington Monument is much clearer now that the lens is defogged.

The U.S. Capitol building

The Smithsonian Institution Building known as "The Castle".

The U.S. Supreme Court Building

The White House with a poster of oranges for a backdrop

This one had me stumped until the docent revealed it is the National Museum of the American Indian right across the street.  The model is made of various fungi.  I've been in the museum, it's a beautiful building and a very different style for the city.

The Jefferson Memorial with a gourd used as the dome

Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial from the back

The Library of Congress

The U.S. Botanic Garden conservatory flanked by moss bear topiaries.

The Poinsettias were not the only color.  These Bromeliads put on quite a display alongside a terrarium.

And of course the Orchids chimed in

Loved this pinstriped bamboo

It's not all holiday decor as shown by this cycad display



Palms soar to the top of the 93 foot dome

The mist in the tropical displays caught the sunlight.

Mini garden cases were pretty displays

Christmas trees in the alcoves

And a few more views of this beautiful setting.

The big draw during December is a model train display but we were a little early and it wasn't open yet.  The conservatory was a great place to get in the holiday mood though.  Next we'll tour the gardens around the conservatory and take a walk across Capitol Hill to Union Station.