National Arboretum
A half-hour’s walk from the Capitol Building, the National Arboretum is another wonderful and unexpected example of a living museum of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants in the city centre. Established in 1927 for scientific research, and education, the gardens conserve and showcase plants that enhance the environment.
The intimate Friendship Garden, full of inspirational ideas for the homeowner, is the first garden to greet visitors. The gardens then open out into a series of themed areas, with the Asian Collections being one of the most dramatic. A dazzling array of plants adorn the sloping terrain and there is something blooming every month of the year.
Overseas visitors will be particularly interested in Fern Valley, where many of the plants are native to the Washington DC area, along with prairie plants from the western US and woodland flowers from New England. The most photographed attraction in the grounds can be found in Ellipse Meadow, where a stately line of Corinthian columns command the top of a natural knoll. Although they look as if they have been in the gardens for many years, they were actually only moved there just over a decade ago. The landscape around the columns was designed by English landscape architect Russell Page.
On a much smaller scale, miniature masterpieces can be admired in the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum, which has one of the largest collections of these tiny timeless trees in North America.
The arboretum is open every day, except Christmas Day, from 8am to 5pm, with the Bonsai museum open from 10am to 3.30pm. Admission is free.
National Arboretum blooming azaleas, credit Adam Fagen
Contact details
3501 New York Avenue NE
Washington DC
20002
001-202-245-2726
Website
US Botanic Garden
It’s hard to imagine a glorious parkland garden and tropical paradise in the heart of America’s capital, but that’s exactly what you’ll find at the US Botanic Garden. With its roots going back to 1816, the garden nestling on the National Mall by the US Capitol is nearly as old as Washington DC itself. It was established by the US Congress and is fondly known as the ‘nation’s garden’.
A living plant museum and botanists’ dream, the garden is now made up of several distinctive sections with highlights including a stunning collection of more than 10,000 varieties of orchids and the conservatory with its impressive state-of-the-art indoor garden housing 4,000 seasonal, tropical and subtropical plants.
The oldest part of the US Botanic Garden is the landscaped flower garden Bartholdi Park. The centrepiece is an ornate 30ft high statue created by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the French sculptor who also designed the Statue of Liberty. Today the plantings reflect modern horticultural trends and the garden also showcases innovative plant combinations in a variety of styles and design themes.
Opened in 2006 as an extension to the Botanic Garden, the National Garden is spread over three acres next to the conservatory and features unusual, useful and ornamental plants that grow in the mid-Atlantic region. Attractions include the Rose Garden, Butterfly Garden, Lawn Terrace, First Ladies’ Water Garden, a display of regional trees, shrubs and perennials and an outdoor amphitheatre.
The US Botanic Garden is open 10am to 7pm daily, including weekends and holidays, (Conservatory until 5pm) and admission is free.
US Botanic Garden, Washington, DC
Contact details
100 Maryland Avenue SW
Washington DC
20001
001-202-225-8333
