Capitol Square, SW

The U.S. Botanic Garden near the U.S. Capitol, overlooking the National Mall, is easily recognized by the sparkling glass dome of its Conservatory and offers year-round indoor and outdoor gardens with plants from around the world, including jungle, desert, oasis, and Jurassic forest habitats as well as exhibits on medicinal, economic, and endangered plants. Its outdoor features include theme gardens for home landscapes, a mid-Atlantic native plant garden, a rose garden, and the historic Bartholdi Fountain, with programs and tours offered throughout the year and no admission charge. The Bartholdi Fountain, designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi for the U.S. Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, was purchased by the government in 1876 and relocated to this park in 1932. Its base features aquatic monsters and fishes while three classical caryatids uphold a wide basin, and though originally lighted by gas lamps, it once created a lively nighttime display of fire and water. The gardens in Bartholdi Park honor the fountain and also serve as home demonstration gardens, illustrating design principles and plant combinations for a variety of themes and styles suitable for urban or suburban homes, with changing seasonal beds of annuals and perennials.

Washington, District of Columbia · United States