Seasons Greetings at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C.

When my mom and I went to Washington, D.C. last year at this time, we went on a bus tour through a local company; part of the scheduled day was to be spent at the United States Botanic Garden.

US Botanic Garden

US Botanic Garden

To be honest, I wasn’t too thrilled about it — how interesting could that possibly be when there was so much else in D.C. that I wanted to see? But it was a rainy, cold, gloomy day, so a little inside time was rather welcome.

Rainy day at Botanic Garden

Rainy day at Botanic Garden

As it turned out, this was one of the most impressive, awe-inspiring, festive, gorgeous parts of our day. The annual Seasons Greetings exhibit features “Washington landmark buildings all created with plant materials set amidst pathways and pools of blooming poinsettias and other holiday plants (emphasis added).” ALL of what you are about to see was created with plant materials. Simply amazing.

The White House

The White House

Lincoln Memorial, Reflecting Pool, & Washington Monument

Lincoln Memorial, Reflecting Pool, & Washington Monument

US Supreme Court

US Supreme Court; check out detail on this photo on my Flickr set

US Capitol

US Capitol

There was also a special section for children and the young at heart; the exhibit had a decidedly different feel, but again, everything was made with plant materials.

Castle and hot air balloon

Castle and hot air balloon

One...unique ornament

One…unique ornament

See lots more photos of the Botanical Garden on my Washington, D.C. Flickr set.

This year’s exhibit will be up until January 2,

so there’s something else you can do in D.C. besides just visiting Union Station.

9 Beans of Wisdom to “Seasons Greetings at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C.”
  1. Gil
    12.17.2010

    Your pictures are beautiful as usual!

    Thanks Gil! It’s truly an amazing place!

  2. What Gil said.

    I used to live in DC and one of my favorite places (other than the fantastic museums) was the Eastern Market farmers market on Capital Hill.

    There was one vendor who made the best blueberry pancakes, ever.

    I would love to spend several weeks in DC…such a lively place 🙂

  3. Nell
    12.17.2010

    Great shots beautiful recreations, the last picture of what appears to be a forest fairy reminded me very much of Gianni who lives in the valley with his dogs in Positano from Charlies’s blog figs and lemons!

    So glad you enjoyed Nell!

  4. 12.17.2010

    I’m so glad you went…I always bully people into going:)

    They pull a face just as you must’ve …er, botanical garden. Eh. But we’re in DC. Yep. And as you know, it’s so easy to pop in (all you people who are reading Michelle’s post….really easy).

    So true…so easy…and a must-see for sure!

  5. 12.17.2010

    I wasn’t confident enough in my Italian to trust that I could effectively communicate to our photographer that “sometimes when I’m really happy my smile is too gummy or my right eye is very small so we need a secret signal for each so that I can correct it and all our wedding photos aren’t gummy or small-right-eyed,” so we brought our own photographer to Calabria for our wedding. The photog is based in DC, so we actually went there for a trial session of engagement photos with her before committing to bringing her to Italy. It was also a rainy day and after a few shots at the Lincoln Memorial, we did all the rest in the Botanical Garden. It was my first time there despite having attending 4 yrs of college in DC and I thought it was awesome! Now I want to go back for the Christmas display one day!

    Haha that is hilarious Carina (about the photographer); the garden really is magical — what a lovely setting for wedding photos it must have been!

  6. 12.18.2010

    Wow, wow, wow!! It makes me want to know how they did it all. Such detail! What a great thing to see in person, glad you were able to go and that you shared it with us.

    I know! I’m curious about the process too; glad you enjoyed 🙂

  7. 12.22.2010

    Ciao! Wow! This looks amazing!

    I don’t know if I ever told you but one of the regions of my Italian heritage is from Calabria too. ?

    For some reason the comment luv isn’t working right on my end, so usually it automatically puts my last post. I’ll just put my last blog post just so you don’t get confused. Commentluv has an error with my blog so on here when I check commentluv it says “no last blog post to return”. I think it’s because I had commentluv installed, but then I had to remove it, because there was errors with comments showing, so maybe that’s why. Since I do have a last blog post I’ll put it since it’s not showing automatically. lol Hope I’m not confusing you.

    http://greekitaliangirl.blogspot.com/2010/12/celebrating-my-20th-birthdaybuon.html

    Thanks for adding that Alessandra! I don’t think I knew you had Calabrian roots…small world 🙂

  8. 12.22.2010

    Oops sorry about the confusion there next to the word “Calabria” I put a heart but for some reason it came out as a question mark.

    Yes for some reason my comment section doesn’t “read” that heart….

  9. Marsha
    12.24.2010

    I used to live near D.C. and loved visiting the Botanical Gardens, particularly during the holiday season! Thank you for the reminder of this beautiful place.

    Thanks for coming by Marsha!

Michelle KaminskyMichelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived. 

Calabria Guidebook

Calabria travel guide by Michelle Fabio

Recipes

 

Homemade apple butter
Green beans, potatoes, and pancetta
Glazed Apple Oatmeal Cinnamon Muffins
Pasta with snails alla calabrese
Onion, Oregano, and Thyme Focaccia
Oatmeal Banana Craisin Muffins
Prosciutto wrapped watermelon with bel paese cheese
Fried eggs with red onion and cheese
Calabrian sausage and fava beans
Ricotta Pound Cake