Poinsettias and holiday decorations at the U.S. Botanic Garden

Season's Greenings: Dino-Mite! 2025

Celebrate the holiday season in our annual holiday display “Season’s Greenings” with the Conservatory full of poinsettias, holiday decor, and D.C. landmarks made from plants. In the outdoor gardens, find festive lights and decor throughout plus our model train show. This year, G-gauge model trains will chug through displays of dinosaurs made from plant parts, including Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Velociraptor, and more, plus living plants whose ancestors lived alongside them such as cycads, ferns, and magnolias! The Garden will stay open late seven evenings on Dec. 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, and Jan. 1; and will be closed on Dec. 25.

 

Visiting Tips

  • The Garden is busiest on holidays and the weekends surrounding holidays. For a less busy experience, visit during the week if possible.
  • Strollers are welcome at the Garden, but personal property must be kept in the owner’s possession at all times.
  • The outdoor train display may not run during inclement weather.
  • Please be mindful of terrain changes (stone, gravel, grass, etc.) as you make your way through our outdoor gardens. For additional accessibility information, please visit our Accessibility page.

 

Hours

  • The outdoor train display and Conservatory hours are both 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily between Nov. 27, 2025, and Jan. 4, 2026, closed Dec. 25.
  • On a date TBD, the gated outdoor gardens will open at 10:00 a.m. to accommodate the Garden’s sensory-friendly programming. For additional information on programs for special audiences, please visit our Accessibility page.
  • The Terrace Gardens and Bartholdi Fountain and Gardens are open dawn to dusk daily.
  • There is no admission fee and no tickets are required to visit any area of the U.S. Botanic Garden, including the holiday train display.

Evening Hours and Music

On select Tuesdays and Thursdays -- Dec. 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, and Jan. 1 -- the Conservatory and outdoor train display will have extended hours, staying open until 8:00 p.m. There will be live holiday music and food and drink vendors during these evenings.

 

Outdoor Train Display

Model train display with trains circling a miniature barn, corn, and wheat farmThis year, the outdoor holiday display includes a model train display in the gated outdoor gardens, with trains running from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. between Nov. 27, 2025, and Jan. 4, 2026, closed Dec. 25. The train display will run until 8:00 p.m. on select Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The trains will run through a display of dinosaurs, animals, and their related plants from the Cretaceous period all made from plant parts. Tickets are not required to view the trains or any part of the USBG’s outdoor holiday display, and the train display may not run during inclement weather.

The models made from plant parts include:

  • Tyrannosaurus Rex
  • Triceratops
  • Velociraptor
  • Parasaurolophus
  • Argentinosaurus
  • Repenomamus
  • Steropodon
  • Ankylosaurus
  • Gobiconodon
  • Pteranodon
  • Spinolestes xenarthrosus

 

Conservatory decor featuring DC Landmarks Buildings and Poinsettias

Inside the Conservatory, explore more than 20 landmarks and monuments from around D.C. made from many different plant parts. Each building is a unique plant-based masterpiece. Distinctive architectural details are fashioned from hundreds of dried plant materials. Learn about the plants that make up our famous DC landmarks buildings:

 

Gift Shop and Coffee, Drinks

A gift store run by the Friends of the U.S. Botanic Garden and local D.C. small business Rewild will offer a variety of botanically-themed gifts for purchase in the Conservatory's West Gallery, open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily.

Vintage Views will offer coffee, hot chocolate, and other drinks and snacks for sale just inside the gated outdoor garden near the trains.

 

poinsettias

 

Sensory-Friendly Program Dates

These early or late openings provide museum access to individuals with cognitive and sensory processing disabilities and their families by offering early entrance for registered participants, pre-visit materials, and a take-a-break space. 

Upcoming events:

  • Dates coming soon

 

Poinsettias

Our Horticulture team grows thousands of poinsettias each year. Learn about growing poinsettias, their history, varieties new and old, testing more sustainable growing media, and more!

 

 

Archive of previous holiday shows

Looking for information about previous Season's Greenings shows? Check the archive:

  • 2014: Season's Greenings: Lighthouses (November 27, 2014 - January 4, 2015)

Holiday cheer abounds at the U.S. Botanic Garden! Despite the cold winter outside, the Conservatory boasts a tropical paradise, one of the largest indoor decorated trees in Washington, D.C., and a showcase of poinsettia and their plant cousins. It wouldn’t be the winter holiday season without the fantasy train display in the East Gallery, which chugs along a track through imaginative structures created with plant materials. Explore the seven seas, using lighthouses to navigate your way through this year’s scenic wonderland. Many of the capital’s landmark buildings, all made from natural materials, will be on display in the Garden Court. Come in from the cold and enjoy the sights, scents, and sounds of Season’s Greenings.

 

 

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