Join us for an Earth Day event!
Join us for an Earth Day event! We have lots of programs on-site and online all week long, from composting and sustainable gardening and landscaping to tree conservation and family activities!
“Orchids: Masters of Deception” Exhibit at U.S. Botanic Garden Showcases Deceptive Flowers
Orchids captivate and enthrall people around the world. They also captivate and lure pollinators—sometimes through fascinating, beautiful deceit. A variety of orchids from around the world will be in this 29th annual joint orchid exhibit between the U.S. Botanic Garden and Smithsonian Gardens, running Feb. 14-April 27, 2025 at the USBG Conservatory.
Orchids: Masters of Deception
Orchids captivate and enthrall people around the world. They also captivate and lure pollinators – sometimes through fascinating, beautiful deceit! Join us as we showcase some of the unique, bizarre, and intriguing orchid adaptations that deceive pollinators looking for food, mates, locations to lay their eggs, and more. Explore thousands of orchids in this 29th annual joint orchid exhibit between the U.S. Botanic Garden and Smithsonian Gardens.
To Defoliate or Not to Defoliate, That is the Question
Some trees don’t lose their leaves in the fall, instead remaining green year-long. Why is this? What is the reason that some trees lose their leaves in the colder months while others don’t?
A “Blue Rooster” Comes to U.S. Botanic Garden from National Gallery of Art
There’s now a second “blue rooster” on the National Mall. A 4” model of the famous Hahn / Cock sculpture on the roof of the National Gallery of Art’s East Building is now perched on an East Building replica inside the United States Botanic Garden. And both the building model and the Hahn / Cock model are made from plant parts.
Annual Holiday Celebrations Return to U.S. Botanic Garden Thanksgiving Day through New Year’s
Immerse yourself in holiday cheer as the popular annual holiday display “Season’s Greenings” returns to the U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG) from Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, 2024, through Jan. 5, 2025, closed on Dec. 25.
Season's Greenings 2023
Season's Greenings 2024 holiday exhibit
New U.S. Botanic Garden Exhibit Spotlights “Fierce Flora”
Washington – A new exhibit at the United States Botanic Garden showcases the ferocious side of the bright and beautiful plant world! “Fierce Flora: Tales of Survival and Demise” opens to the public Sept. 27, 2024, in the Conservatory East Gallery.
Fierce Flora: Tales of Survival and Demise
Most plants are relatively harmless, but beware some of the unique survival features plants have evolved to defend themselves against herbivores, infection, and plant competitors! Explore this new multisensory exhibit that shares the ferocious side of the bright and beautiful plant world. Plants have engaged in a millennia-long evolutionary struggle with their animal and plant competitors, and some people can experience negative consequences from touching, consuming, or, in rare cases, sitting beneath them. But some of the chemicals that cause harm can also be used for human good: more than half of pharmaceutical drugs are originally derived from plants. It’s a plant’s world; we are just living in it!
U.S. Botanic Garden Shifts Open Hours to 11-6 for July, August 2024
For most of July and August 2024, the U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG) will shift open hours for the Conservatory to 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. From July 8 through August 30, the shifted hours will allow the USBG to replace the greenhouse glass roof in the Conservatory Garden Court.