U.S. Botanic Garden and a D.C. farewell

Thanks to a very thoughtful family member who arranged a cleaning service for us, we were able to take a break for a few hours after loading the truck while someone else cleaned the house. (So incredibly nice during such a stressful/exhausting time.) It was the perfect chance to see one of our favorite holiday displays in D.C., the Season's Greenings exhibit at the United States Botanic Garden. We reminisced about seeing this exhibit for the first time several years ago when it was just a train exhibit outside of the gardens. Now they have a fun theme every year with trains winding through creative structures made using plant materials in addition to the many famous D.C. landmarks made out of plant materials, lots of festive poinsettias, and a large decorated tree. This year's "World's Fair" theme was really fun.

I loved how they used bark to make the continents on this globe.

I'm sure this won't be our last visit to D.C., especially since we're only 4 1/2 hours away. But it was fun to visit one last time before we moved and fit in one of our D.C. Christmas traditions.

titan arum (the corpse flower)

The legendary titan arum bloomed at the U.S. Botanic Garden a few weeks ago. We had been watching the giant flower (largest in the world) all week on the webcam, waiting for it to bloom. It doesn't bloom regularly or often and only stays open for about 24 hours once it does bloom. It's called the corpse flower because it smells like rotting flesh when it opens up. It finally started opening on a Sunday evening, after the Botanic Garden had closed for the day. So Monday morning we made sure to arrive early, knowing there would be a big crowd. When we arrived, there was a mass of people already waiting for the Botanic Garden to open. Luckily, we were one of the first few groups in and only had to wait a few minutes. The line grew longer all day and many people had to be turned away at the end of the day. Celebrity flower for sure.

It was pretty amazing, standing eight feet tall. We were disappointed that it didn't really smell. (Because who wouldn't want to smell rotting flesh?) Apparently it smelled pretty bad right when it opened Sunday night but had worn off by the time the flower paparazzi arrived.

Nice, Oliver.

We still had some time on our parking meter so we stopped next door at the National Museum of the American Indian. We hadn't been here for a few years and a lot had changed inside. The kids were excited about the children's area and we spent most of our time there. It's crazy to think that this museum hadn't even opened yet when we first moved here nine years ago.

Botanic Gardens: Season's Greenings

One of our favorite Christmas displays every year is at the U.S. Botanic Garden and my mom joined us this year. The conservatory is always very festive filled with wreaths, garlands, poinsettias, and living ornaments. There are also beautiful replicas of historic D.C. buildings made out of plant material. There is really never anything Christmas-y about the Garden Railway exhibit (other than the fact that trains are involved) but it's always our favorite part. The exhibit used to just showcase the trains but now they create a completely magical forest each year. This year had fairies again (which thrilled the girls) and all kinds of interesting creatures and dwellings made out of plant material. I loved the creativity and the extensive details. We could have examined the displays even longer but a Saturday morning crowd isn't too conducive to intense pondering.

 

They had these really fun holes in the trees that you could peak in. The details inside were amazing.

A fairy playing an organ? A unicorn pulling a wagon? This is how I picture Amelia's imagination to work.

This fairy had a praying mantis on a leash. Perfect.

 An enchanted forest wouldn't be complete without a big ugly troll.

Oliver liked it.

 Amelia stared at this mermaid for a long time. Definitely her favorite.