Navigate to Homepage
Search
Main navigation
  

        
              Explore the Capitol Campus
                          Art
                            Buildings & Grounds
                            Capitol Hill Facts
                            Visitor Resources
                            Our Blog
                            What We Do
                          Areas of Expertise
                            Programs & Ceremonies
                            Projects
                            Publications
                            Strategic Objectives
                            About Us
                          Who We Are
                            History of the AOC
                            News & Notices
                            Organizational Structure
                            Partnerships & Recognition
                            Work With UsSearch Breadcrumb
    HomeExplore the Capitol CampusOur Blog
National Garden Highlights Regional Plants and Sustainable Practices

Whether you want inspiration and information for your garden, want to learn about the importance of pollinators or simply want to take a scenic nature walk steps from the U.S. Capitol — the U.S. Botanic Garden's National Garden in Washington, D.C., is a treasure for everyone.
By Matt Guilfoyle | May 12, 2014
        
                  Image

As Congress meets in the halls of the U.S. Capitol, a small group of AOC employees toil in the heat a few hundred yards away to help a living national treasure thrive in an urban center. This is the National Garden at the U.S. Botanic Garden.

Conceived as an outdoor laboratory for gardening in harmony with natural ecosystems, the National Garden opened to the public on October 1, 2006. It provides "living laboratories" for environmental, horticultural and botanical education in a contemplative setting.

Bill McLaughlin, U.S. Botanic Garden Plant Curator, has been there from its opening, helping guide the plant selection and placement while providing overall guidance to the philosophy of the National Garden.

"We were sustainable before sustainable was cool," said McLaughlin. "There is no pop-up irrigation — it decides what grows where — and it can become wasteful. We hand water — you get fewer weeds. But we have a lot of space, and not a lot of gardeners — thank goodness for our volunteers."

This focus on sustainable gardening is even true within the Rose Garden, which traditionally was not believed to be possible. However, thanks in large part to the efforts of Gardener Margaret Atwell, the Rose Garden in the National Garden is becoming a model and resource for mid-Atlantic gardeners, demonstrating how roses can be grown and thrive in a sustainable manner.

As part of this sustainable focus, the Rose Garden, and the entire National Garden, practice integrated pest management, also known as IPM. This management of pests focuses on using natural and organic methods. Chemicals are only used as a last resort, and only on a very limited basis. The Rose Garden is also different from others because it features self-sowing annuals that bring in pollinators and helpful insects that attack predatory insects.

The Regional Garden is a special gem within the National Garden. It is home to many unique and rare plants, all of which are native to the mid-Atlantic. The Regional Garden itself mirrors the mid-Atlantic, including two basic types of soils — piedmont and coastal plain. These two soils allow the Regional Garden to serve as a microcosm of the entire region. The commitment to regional natives even continues into the water features of the Regional Garden. The aquatic plants are native, as are the dollar sunfish in the water.

"It has a real naturalness to it," said McLaughlin. "We have two flora, but we didn’t want it to feel like two different gardens, so we also feature some plants that grow in both soils to help tie the features together."

While the garden is home to these treasured plants, it is also home to an abundance of pollinators that are attracted to both the plants of the Butterfly Garden and the native plants of the Regional Garden.

The garden continues to mature and develop and is now entering a refinement phase as the staff learns from, and studies, the success of the plants within the garden. The garden will also change as trees grow, casting more shade, and the plants will be adapted to the ever-changing environmental conditions.

Whether you want inspiration and information for your garden, want to learn about the importance of pollinators or simply want to take a scenic nature walk steps from the Capitol — the National Garden is a treasure for everyone.

**More Photos**

*This story was first published in AOC Foundation & Perspectives.*
Add new comment
    Your name
Email Address
        The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Comment
About text formats
Plain text
  
  
      
          No HTML tags allowed.
                      Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
                      Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
          
    
      Recent Stories
Related Articles
            
          History & Discoveries

  Evolution of Women in Art at the U.S. Capitol

An in-depth look at the evolution of women in art at the U.S. Capitol.
    History & Discoveries

  Capitol Illumination

Learn more about the history of lighting this iconic building including the part of the Dome called the "tholos."
    History & Discoveries

  Artfully Yours, George Washington

While George Washington never actually graced the halls of the U.S. Capitol, his presence, influence and even his likeness, is everywhere including 35 pieces of art.
    History & Discoveries

  Unearthing Capitol Hill's Buried History

Visit Congressional Cemetery and discover the many connections the Architect of the Capitol has to this hallowed ground.
    
                      More Stories Serve. Preserve. Inspire.

              Contact Us
                            Accountability
                            Hill Staff Resources
                            AOC Staff Resources
Utility
  

        
              Privacy Policy
                            Image Terms of Use
                            Inspector General
                            U.S. Botanic Garden
                            U.S. Capitol Visitor CenterFacebook
	Twitter
	Flickr
	YouTube
	Instagram
	Subscribe