Hidden Garden With Bright Colors and Unusual Plants

We recently visited the United States Botanical Garden in Washington, D.C., up near the U.S. Congress buildings.  We were thrilled and amazed at the plants and flowers and trees growing there. As it was a very cold wintry rainy sort of day, it was very pleasant to go into a warm and humid environment and see brightly colored flowers and tropical plants. It's set up with many different rooms all of which are glassed in, although there is an outside area -- the Children's Garden -- that is only open in warm weather. There was a room full of orchids that were spectacular hues, some with tiger skin design or flaming pink or orange or colors you didn't think existed naturally. Another very interesting room was filled with desert plants, such as various cactii and grasses that grow in very dry areas.  They had specimens from many areas of the world and with just enough text to explain what it was, although I think they could have provided just a little bit more information. One room was filled with medicinal plants and having more text it was cool to find out how many commonly-used
pharmaceuticals are derived from plants.  Another huge area, two-storeys high, was filled with jungle trees and vines and bromeliads, some flowering, some just hanging. Inside the Children's Garden you could see a large plant that looked like it was made of glass. In fact one visitor looking at it said "That's not a real plant!"  But it turned out there were several of these milky white glassy plants growing there and they are real. Another treat were the topiary trees shaped as animals such as bears, and some potted mosses and ferns arranged to look like frogs or other creatures. Since it was the holiday season there was also an extraordinary display of poinsettas, some pink, some cream and the more familiar red ones. Another (small!) glass room displayed some endangered species plants, including some interesting ferns and flowers.

View to US Congress from front of Botanical Garden

This is a  truly a wondrous place to visit (for free) in the city and learn more about the environment. 

Hard to believe Las Vegas is in a desert

View from desert approaching Las Vegas

Half-naked men billboard

It's hard to believe that Las Vegas is in the middle of the desert as it's a place where you see giant Coca Cola bottles and motorcycle wheels, half-naked men on billboards, and a disneying array of "landmarks" like the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty and an Egyptian pyramid, among other pseudo-sites.  A recent visit reminded me of how fantastical this city is; we'd spent two weeks visiting canyons and national parks in the surrounding area and realizing what richness there is a desert land.  Then to drive in from this desert into Las Vegas jarred our sense of place and time. One minute we're looking at petrified dunes and trees, hoodoos, chasms and mountains of rocks and sand and then, hey presto change-o, there's a Subway and 711 store and a bus blinking its route number at us and grocery stores and banners advertising "move in now, one month free rent." It all seemed such a contrivance, so flimsy and false and yet it's clear thousands of people live and work here.  As we drove through various residential neighborhoods on our way to the center "strip" we saw schools and offices and all the buildings of any modern city.  This experience  made  me think how cities and towns can be such contrivances on the landscape and then, what a big energy suck this metropolis is. Just imagining the amount of electricity the casinos use and the gallons of water the hotels flush each day was mind-boggling. This is no green city!

Magic Kingdon, Statue of Liberty, Caesars Palace all jumble together in Las Vegas