Green roof surprise in Allentown

Renaissance Allentown Hotel, view from hotel room window

I was in Allentown, Pennsylvania last weekend for a niece's wedding reception.  As my husband and I checked into the Renaissance Allentown Hotel, I was looking forward to a view of the city from our room's fifth floor windows.  When we got to the room and I opened the curtains, I was disappointed to find only a view of walls and rooftop.  My disappointment turned to surprise as I realized there was a thick carpet of plants on the roof: it was a green roof.

Summer means great gardens in Washington, DC

National Museum of Natural History (Constitution Avenue entrance)

I'm privileged to work at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC and a beautiful garden greets me as I arrive at work every morning.  As the summer gets hotter and hotter, it just keeps getting better and better.  I know a lot of people don't like the heat and humidity of a Washington, DC summer but this is when our public gardens really start to hit their stride.  Don't get me wrong, I love spring gardens with their tulips, daffodils, peonies, bleeding heart, foxglove, poppies, and bluebells, but by mid-summer, most of these plants look the worse for wear.  Some of them, like oriental poppies, bleeding heart, and most spring bulbs, have the good sense to go dormant in our summer heat but gardens that depend too heavily on these spring-flowering plants aren't worth seeing the rest of the year.

Washington, DC: more than just cherry blossoms

Smithsonian Castle and Enid A. Haupt Garden, July 2014

If you asked almost anybody what Washington, DC is known for, cherry blossoms would probably be in the top five things they list.  This time of year, tourists start taking picture of pretty much any tree with pink flowers, thinking they're cherry blossoms.  In reality, these are often flowering plums or magnolias, both of which bloom a bit earlier than the cherries.  There are a few early cherries blooming here and there, but this has been a late spring and it will be another week or so before the cherries reach their peak.

Spring forward?

Crocus carnage: Bird?  Squirrel?  Gremlins?

Spring is never a straightforward season and March is especially unpredictable.  I had 77 degrees (25° C) two days ago, and a frost last night.  I guess I shouldn't complain too much because it snowed in Buffalo yesterday!  But complain I will, because when I came home from work last night I discovered that, just as they were about to open, some critter had nipped off nearly every bud on my 'Ruby Giant' crocus.  @$%&#!

Smithsonian Gardens, part 3: Enid A. Haupt Garden

Parterre garden in front of the Smithsonian Castle

[Third in a series on Smithsonian Gardens; introduction here, part 1 here, part 2 here]

I took a walk through the Smithsonian's Enid A. Haupt Garden a few days ago and found it still going strong in mid-October.  That stroll reminded me that I still had a set of photos from July to upload that I took for a series of blog posts on Smithsonian Gardens.  I wrote up the Butterfly Habitat and Urban Bird Habitat Gardens, and the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden, but I kept putting off the Haupt Garden.  Nestled between Independence Avenue, the Smithsonian "Castle", the Freer Gallery and the Arts and Industries Building, this is the largest of the Smithsonian's gardens on the National Mall, and I'll admit I felt a bit intimidated!  The Haupt Garden is actually a series of connected gardens that contrast strongly in character, altogether covering 4 acres.  Most of this is planted over the Smithsonian Quadrangle or "Quad", a large underground complex of office and museum space.  The Haupt Garden is thus a giant roof garden, and although it was installed only after the Quad was completed in 1985, it looks like it's been there since the Castle itself was built.

Smithsonian Gardens, part 2: Mary Livingston Ripley Garden

Entrance to the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden on the National Mall

[Second in a series on Smithsonian Gardens; introduction here, and part 1 here]

The Mary Livingston Ripley Garden, tucked into a narrow space between two Smithsonian museums, the Arts and Industries Building (closed for renovations since 2006) and the Hirshhorn Museum, is one of the Smithsonian's smallest but it's one of my favorite gardens in Washington, DC.  Like the Butterfly Habitat Garden, this oasis just off the National Mall is easy to miss, and tourists focused on the memorials, monuments, and museums will walk right by it without ever knowing it's there.

Smithsonian Gardens, part 1: National Museum of Natural History

Monarda fistulosa, Butterfly Habitat Garden

[This is the first in a series of posts about Smithsonian Gardens.  Please see my introductory post here.]

The National Museum of Natural History is one of the Smithsonian Institution's largest and most popular museums, vying with the National Air and Space Museum as the most-visited Smithsonian museum.  But many visitors overlook the gardens around the building, including the Butterfly Habitat Garden and Urban Bird Habitat Garden.  These gardens deserve more attention; not only are they beautiful, but they are AAM (American Alliance of Museums) accredited and have been designated as wildlife sanctuaries by the National Audubon Society.

Smithsonian Gardens

Smithsonian "Castle", the original Smithsonian Institution building

Many tourists who visit the city where I live are completely unaware of the many gardens that can be found in Washington, DC or the work that goes into them.  Several different government agencies are responsible for the various gardens, many of which deserve to be tourist attractions in their own right.  Among these are the gardens on the grounds of the Smithsonian Institution's museums on the National Mall.  The Smithsonian has its own horticultural division, Smithsonian Gardens, and the gardens staff do a wonderful job planning, planting and maintaining these gardens for the public  to enjoy.*