At the U.S. Botanic Garden, we are committed to creating and offering extraordinary exhibits that delight, educate and inspire the public to become more active stewards of the plants that support life on earth.

Seasonal Exhibits

Orchid Mystique: Nature's Triumph
February 18 – April 29, 2012
Conservatory Garden Court and East Gallery

The U.S. Botanic Garden presents Orchid Mystique: Nature's Triumph, in collaboration with Smithsonian Gardens, featuring orchids from around the globe. 

This year's exhibit observes the 100th anniversary of Japan's gift of the cherry blossom trees to Washington, D.C., by presenting our orchids around the Conservatory in serene settings evocative of Japanese gardens to complement the thousands of orchids on display. The tranquility of the Japanese aesthetic invites appreciation of the beauty, form and exquisite floral complexity of nature's most diverse plant family.  

Also on display during Orchid Mystique: Nature's Triumph:

• Images of North American Japanese gardens from award-winning photographer David Cobb,
• A selection of native orchid photographs from photographer Hal Horwitz, and
• An exhibit about a new national effort to restore and conserve native orchids between the U.S. Botanic Garden and the Smithsonian Institution.

Throughout the exhibit, the U.S. Botanic Garden will offer orchid-themed activities for adults and children. Please see our calendar of events for more details.

**UPCOMING**
Savage Gardens: The Real and Imaginary World of Carnivorous Plants
May 26 – October 8, 2012
Conservatory Terrace and East Gallery

Carnivorous plants fascinate with how they lure, catch, kill and digest insects. Savage Gardens tells the story of carnivorous plants and their astounding adaptations to inhospitable habitats. Get a true bugs-eye perspective of what it is like to be these plants' prey with super-sized sculptures and beds full of carnivorous plants. Combining science, botany and hands-on activity, Savage Gardens demonstrates the wonders of these unique plants and the importance of preserving the delicate environments in which they live.

Exhibit Archive

• Slow Life is a window into the world of plants. It accelerates the time-scale of plants into our own frame of reference, speeding up their everyday lives to a pace that resonates with our own. This online guide to the lives of plants is based on the traveling exhibit developed by the U.S. Botanic Garden, Chicago Botanic Garden and Indiana University.

• The advent of book publishing ushered in an exuberant age of plant exploration and discovery. Plants in Print: The Age of Botanical Discovery is a collaboration between the U.S. Botanic Garden and the Chicago Botanic Garden to share the rich history of botany and plant exploration with a nationwide audience.

• Titan Arum
  

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