doing DC: botanical gardens at Christmas

When thinking of things to do in DC at Christmas, there's several that tops the list. Ice skating on the mall, the big lit Christmas trees at the White House and Capitol, theater performances...the list goes on. One place that doesn't immediately make that list, but totally should, is the National Botanical Gardens. 

My friend and I were in search of refuge from the rain on Saturday when we happened upon the gardens. She had never been inside before, so we popped in to dry off and were totally blown away at the displays inside. Each of the big name monuments was recreated using plants. It was like a mix between a gingerbread display and the Rose parade in Pasadena. 

More than 70 plants were used in the recreations, while there were five commonly used materials - pine cone scales, willows, screw pods, grapevine tendrils and acorn caps. They covered an acrylic-based foam with resin window cutouts and obviously took a LOT of time to create. They note that the Capitol took over 600 hours. Let's just break that down for a second....that's 25 days. That's almost a month. For one of these. Are you ready to be awed? 

 The White House

 Lincoln Memorial

Jefferson Memorial

 Smithsonian Castle

 Washington Monument

 Botanical Gardens

 Capitol Building

 Library of Congress - Jefferson Building

 Supreme Court

Isn't that view breathtaking? It made me want to watch Frosty the Snowman...even though this would be the last place he should be. Karen on the other hand - boy that girl was a wreck! 

*All photos taken by me with my trusty iPhone

my best friend ELF weekend in dc

You may be asking "What exactly is this ELF in DC weekend you were instagraming, Sarah?" Well I shall tell you! You know when Buddy calls his dad and has a whole list of things to do? 

Etsy

"Ahhhhhhh now I know what you're talking about!" You're saying. I knew I only had one weekend in DC before going home for a well deserved Christmas holiday, so my very best friend that I've known since middle school came up to visit and we did a DC Christmas ELF in the city weekend. So we didn't make snow angels, eat a whole roll of Tollhouse cookie dough, or snuggle we did live life the Buddy way. 

We saw some Christmas trees...

 I refuse to show the White House tree because it was even more pathetic than the Capitol tree.

We saw some statues with buildings all decorated.

 Took our typical George selfie.

Saw the monuments recreated using plants

 Another view of the Capitol tree

 Ice skated at the sculpture garden...

And finally....saw Santa on the Mall before getting on the metro. 

I think Buddy would have been proud. 

*All photos besides the first taken by me with my trusty iPhone

doing DC: the U.S. botanic garden

Did you know you could visit the jungle, desert and view 5,000 types of orchids all in one day at one place in the Capitol? D.C.'s really great for things like that, and a trip to the U.S. Botanic Garden just outside of the Capitol building can bring you all of that and more.

Growing up I watched my mom spend hours and hours every weekend and nights after work in the summer playing in her flowers. Although I haven't quiet yet acquired the same appreciation for dirt under the finger nails and sweating through a shirt in the blazing sun (read - not at all) I have gained an appreciation for beautiful flowers and the talent it takes to grow them and nurture them into living.

Needless to say, I enjoyed my time there sending pictures to my mom saying "Next time you come we have to come here because you'll love it!"

Getting to the Garden is easy. Take the Orange/Silver/Blue line to Federal Central SW metro stop and follow it 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. The Conservatory is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. while the National Garden (the outside part of the Conservatory) is open until 7 p.m.. 

*all images taken by me with my trusty iPhone