Garden Ideas from the United States Botanic Garden
Get landscaping lessons from the United States Botanic Garden.
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Located on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, the United States Botanic Garden is one of Washington D.C.'s top attractions for garden lovers. It features a conservatory of tropical plants, a butterfly garden, rose garden, and much more.
The garden's amphitheatre is a wonderful spot to rest and take in the sights. Surrounded by colorful flowers, it is also the perfect perch from which to enjoy its stunning backdrop -- the interesting architecture of the National Museum of the American Indian.
Because the rose is the United States' National Flower , it's only natural the USBG would feature a rose garden. You'll see an amazing collection of lovely roses that are well suited to the climate of the Mid-Atlantic region.
Fall is a lovely time to visit the garden and see its collection of 26,000 plants, including collections dogwoods and witch hazels.
The children's garden provides inspiration for making your garden child-friendly with its planting and activity ideas.
You'll see a large variety of water features perfect for your yard. The displays illustrate how to integrate water features into the landscape.
The various water features in the garden demonstrate the best plants to incorporate, including bog plants, floating plants, and more.
The USBG offers a variety of places to sit and enjoy the beautiful setting. This photo, for example, shows a section dedicated to the First Ladies of the nation.
The conservatory offers a garden getaway all year long. Recently renovated, it currently contains more than 4,000 plants.
If lush tropicals from humid climates aren't your thing, check out the arid section of the conservatory, which features a variety of heat-loving plants.
An area called The Jungle sits at the center of the conservatory. It highlights palm trees from around the world.
Just inside the north entrance to the conservatory is the Garden Court, displaying a number of seasonal exhibits. It's also the home of the conservatory's Christmas tree and poinsettias during the holidays.
There's also a section of the conservatory dedicated to medicinal plants, so you can see the plants spices such as vanilla, ginger, and allspice are derived from.
Bartholdi Park, created in 1932, also sits on the grounds of the USBG. It's a great place to see trends in garden design as well as hot new plant introductions.
