Interlude Tours: Escorted Vacation to the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. (travel originating in Indianapolis)
We have a tour coming up for those who’d like to explore Washington, D.C., and foreign embassies in grand style!
Embassies of Washington, D.C. (click here for itinerary)
(5 days, 4 nights)
- Escorted vacation (0% fuss, 100% vacation!)
- One-hotel tour (unpack just once!)
- Tour for active adults (share a great experience!)
- Includes home pickup and return (for clients in Marion and adjacent counties)
I must admit, I have been going “garden crazy” on this blog recently. Perhaps because it’s winter I’m finding these gardens with their beautiful flowers in elegant designs particularly appealing. I imagine breathing in the fresh air and taking in all the glorious fragrances!
The United States Botanic Garden is a masterpiece among gardens. According to the official website,
We are proud to offer the citizens of Washington and visitors from across the nation a beautiful and fascinating living plant museum here on our Nation’s Mall at the foot of the U.S. Capitol. We invite you to return again and again, to watch us grow and to see our ever-changing exhibits.
The United States Botanic Garden (USBG) is a botanic garden run by the Congress of the United States. It is located in Washington, D.C., on the U.S. Capitol Grounds campus near Garfield Circle. The building itself, which includes a large Lord & Burnham greenhouse, is divided into separate rooms, each one simulating a different habitat.
Wikipedia provides some nice historical information:
In 1838, Charles Wilkes set out on the United States Exploring Expedition commissioned by Congress to circumnavigate the globe and explore the Pacific Ocean. During this trip (the “Wilkes Expedition”), Wilkes collected live and dried specimens of plants and was one of the first to use wardian cases to maintain live plants on long voyages. Wilkes returned in 1842 with a massive collection of plants previously unknown in the United States.
The dried specimens comprised the core of what is now the National Herbarium, an herbarium curated by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. The live specimens and seeds came to be housed in the Old Patent Office greenhouse, and were cared for there until 1850. At that time, a botanic garden was built to house the collection in front of the Capitol, where the Capitol reflecting pool is now located.
In 1933, the building was moved to its present location, just to the southwest of the Capitol, bordered by Maryland Avenue on the north, First Street on the east, Independence Avenue on the south, and Third Street on the west.
Here is a nice home video that someone took of the Botanic Garden:
Of course, the United States Botanic Garden is just one of many fabulous destinations on this tour, so why not give it a try? We welcome reservations from Indianapolis, where we are based, or from any location in the United States or Canada.
Photo by Fletcher6; used with permission.
–Matt
The Interlude Tours Blog Team
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