December 28, 2013
http://www.usbg.gov/
Exhibits: From Thanksgiving to early January is the annual Christmas trains exhibition, "Season's Greenings." There are replicas of famous buildings made from natural materials like wood, moss, pine cones, etc. Also you can see a lot plants and festive Christmas decorations. Check the website, sometimes they have live music in the evenings.
Price: Free
How we got there: Metro to Federal Center SW station. It's only 3 blocks from there. Exit the station, walk north (left) along Third Street SW for two blocks, cross Independence Avenue and continue one more block to Maryland Avenue. Look toward the Capitol and you will see the glass dome of the Conservatory. The Conservatory entrance is on Maryland Avenue. Don't get off at the Smithsonian stop and walk, it's a long way.
Rating: 4 stars because metro is very tedious, but gardens are great.
Most Interesting Thing I learned: They make intricate sculptures with raw (natural) resources.
US Botanical Gardens in Washington D.C
If you go on a nice day during the train display it can be crowded, but the line went pretty fast when we were there. Each year they have a different theme for the train display, in 2012 it was Fairies and this year it was World's Fair. There is also some kind of scavenger hunt for kids to find different plants and then stamp a passport, but we didn't do that because there were so many people. Certain rooms like the jungle room are too dark to get any good pictures, Adventure Kid and I found this out the hard way. They do have a children's garden but it was closed when we were there. In the main part of the greenhouse there are displays of the monuments and important buildings in D.C. People are always trying to get pictures here so it's pretty chaotic. I'd recommend going to see the Christmas display and the trains because it's amazing how much work they put into this and how beautiful they make it look. If you like plants I'd recommend going back when they don't have this exhibit anyway so you can get around easier and see everything else.
Oh, I almost forgot. The water in the water fountains is terrible, don't get me wrong, some people might like their water tasting like rust but I don't. They don't have a gift shop and they don't sell any drinks here.
Thanks to Guest Blogger Adventure Kid - for some of these great photos and helping me write this review!
Let's board Tomas The Train Engine's friend Toby
2013 Display - Seattle Space Needle
US Capitol - Everybody wants to take a picture of this
US Supreme Court
2012 Display - Fairy Castle
2012 Display - Fairy House
