At the U.S. Botanic Garden, we are committed to creating and offering extraordinary exhibits that delight, educate and inspire the public to become more active stewards of the plants that support life on earth.
Seasonal Exhibits
Season's Greenings
November 22, 2012 through January 1, 2013
Get into the holiday spirit at the U.S. Botanic Garden's annual holiday exhibit, Season's Greenings. The Conservatory will be adorned with wreaths, garlands, living ornaments and filled with model trains, buildings made from plant materials and a vast collection of poinsettias to celebrate the wonder of the winter holiday season.
The famous Garden Railway in the East Gallery will feature model trains running through an imaginative Enchanted Forest, with fanciful fairy dwellings along the rail line, all created with plant materials. Enjoy blooming plants throughout the Conservatory and a living history of poinsettias. The West Gallery will house one of the largest indoor decorated trees in Washington, D.C., and the Garden Court will be home to a display of model landmark buildings from our Nation's capital, all made from plant materials.
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| The Conservatory is just one of the remarkable representations on display. These buildings are crafted from more than 70 different kinds of plant materials. |
Fantasy soars in the young and young at heart with our model trains, as they chug along more than 800 feet of track through our Enchanted Forest. |
Poinsettias abound in the Conservatory with 18 different varieties featured. Spectacular colors range from classic reds to pink, speckled and white. |
Permanent Exhibits
- Conservatory: The permanent exhibits in our Conservatory will take you around the world all year long. It houses collections of plants from subtropical, tropical and arid regions and showcases orchids, medicinal, economic, endangered and Jurassic plants. From late May to mid-October, the Conservatory Terrace features thematic exhibitions.
- National Garden: Our newest outdoor garden, the National Garden features the Regional Garden of Mid-Atlantic native plants, the Rose Garden - all grown organically - devoted to the U.S. national flower, the Butterfly Garden and the First Ladies Water Garden, whose intricate patterns are inspired by the Colonial-era quilt pattern known as "Martha Washington."
- Bartholdi Park: Bartholdi Park, a favorite "secret" garden of Washingtonians, is across Independence Avenue from the Conservatory. Here visitors will find a tapestry of theme gardens surrounding the historic Bartholdi Fountain. The gardens suggest interesting plants and innovative designs at a scale suitable for the home landscape.
Exhibit Archive
- Slow Life is a window into the world of plants. It accelerates the time-scale of plants into our own frame of reference, speeding up their everyday lives to a pace that resonates with our own. This online guide to the lives of plants is based on the traveling exhibit developed by the U.S. Botanic Garden, Chicago Botanic Garden and Indiana University.
- The advent of book publishing ushered in an exuberant age of plant exploration and discovery. Plants in Print: The Age of Botanical Discovery, a collaboration between the U.S. Botanic Garden and the Chicago Botanic Garden, shares the rich history of botany and plant exploration with a nationwide audience.
- Titan Arum: Amorphophallus titanum is known as the Titan arum, or corpse flower, because at full bloom, the inflorescence is said to smell like a large rotting corpse. You'll find photos and information about the Titan arum that bloomed at the U.S. Botanic Garden in 2003.