US Horticultural Building

As my regular readers will know, Brandon loves horticulture. When I saw online that buildings made out of plants would be on display over the Christmas season, I knew he had to see it. So on Monday December 28th, we headed there as soon as we got to downtown Washington and found out from a police officer that the best place to park was Union Station. From there we grabbed a taxi and the driver let us off right in front of the Horticulture Building.

Beautiful poinsettas were everywhere and all were displayed nicely.

Guards in brilliant red coats were standing guard.

The Lincoln Memorial. Every aspect of the building was made from a kind of plant. Brandon thought they were awesome and Jordan agreed. Even hubby and I were astounded that such beautiful buildings were made entirely out of plants of one type or another.

The displays were very authentic. The Lincoln Memorial, the Pool and, at the opposite end, the Washington Monument.

The steps of the Jefferson Memorial were made of birch bark. It had been cut into little squares and then varnished.

I only wish they had put up a sign that told what kind of plants were used. All of the buildings were absolutely breathtaking.

The National Museum of the American Indian.

The Horticulture Building.

We couldn't help but wonder how many hours went into these displays. They have some very talented people working for them.

All around them were plants and flowers. Everything was so beautiful.

The Christmas tree in the front foyer was so large that I couldn't get it all in a photo. This is a section of the lower part of the tree.

This is one of the sculptures done for the Children's Garden.

Not far away was a small waterfall with lots of lush plants. If you look closely, you can see the mist coming off the water.

There was lots of water here and the room was quite humid. The sound of water is balm for the soul and this area was very enjoyable.

I have more photos of the Horticulture Building and I'll post some more tomorrow. I don't want to overwhelm you with dozens of pictures in one post.

I wish all of you an enjoyable first weekend in 2010. Please stay safe. Many areas are experiencing frigid temperatures (here for instance) and frost bite can occur in about 10 minutes according to the weather forecast. The reporter had put a bottle of water outside and it was frozen solid in a couple of hours. If you are going to be playing outdoors, please dress in layers and be sure to take frequent indoor breaks to warm up. Hypothermia kills.

Other areas are experiencing storm fronts. If traveling, be sure to take a flashlight, blankets and some candles. We took all of these things when we traveled to Washington. Thankfully, we didn't need them.