Dean &
Ginny's excellent adventures... Main
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DC
& WV--05/09: Part 1
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We
drove to Maryland to visit with Dana and his family for a few days the
week before Memorial Day. Wonderful to visit with them and our
friend Lucia
while we were there. On Thursday Dean & I drove into DC to take in some of
our favorite places and some new ones. Springtime in
Washington is a glorious time to visit because the gardens are
spectacular.
We drove to Ft.
Myer, which is above Arlington National Cemetery on the hill
overlooking the Potomac Valley. What a great view. We
rode our bikes through the cemetery, across the Potomac, and into DC
early in the morning.
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As we rode toward the
Capitol at the far end of The Mall, we entertained
ourselves in the long, narrow garden next to the Museum of Natural
History. The early morning light shining through the flowers
and the sprinklers made it fun to take these photos.
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 We
continued east (or far) end of The Mall and enjoyed the gardens around the US Botanical Garden Conservatory.
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The Capitol is nicely framed with a rose-covered arbor.
A passerby matches the yellow of the yarrows.
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A rainscaping garden along one wall of the Conservatory demonstrates
various techniques for better ways to handle stormwater in the
landscape. The designers of this garden show how to use
pervious paving, dry streambeds, rain gardens, and rain barrels all
in an attractive arrangement. This is one of my favorite
topics and I've written about rain
gardens and rain
barrels several times.
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The black rain barrel uses a cutout from a heavy duty air
conditioner filter to allow water to flow
into the barrel, but not mosquitoes or tree parts.
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<< Whimsical sculptures
grace both ends of a narrow water feature in a more formal garden
area in front of the Conservatory building.
Below, a wide arbor structure with coconut mat
flower boxes has been planted with a variety of colorful foliage
plants. The ones planted into the sides of the boxes
will grow to cover the sides and eventually cascade from the
planters.
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The fence hides a fountain under repair in the gardens to the south
of the Conservatory. The spikey flower head repeats the curve of the
roofline.
The gardens are beautiful from any
direction. What's interesting is the creation of specific
microclimates to encourage various types of plants. Here a
higher, rocky substrate supports succulents, while the lower area
on the far side provides a moist, rich soil for the beautiful
stand of iris. >>
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<< A row of purple onion flowers
contrasts
with the yellowish foliage of an evergreen hedge. Below,
these blooming pitcher plants grow next to a small pond in one of
the gardens.
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Heading back to the west end of the mall, we stopped at the World War II
Monument. It's
relatively new, but at this point it fits right into the grandeur of
the Mall.
And then we stopped at the
reflecting pond in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
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We visited several museums and enjoyed the art
inside and out.
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This dynamic light show installed in the walkway
between the east and west wings of the National Art Museum evokes the feeling
of water movement.
There were a lot of school groups, being the
Thursday before Memorial Day, so we didn't spend too much time
inside the museums. We rode back up the hill through Arlington
Cemetery to Ft. Myer. Next stop was the Air Force Memorial.
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This monument to the signers of the Declaration of
Independence, on an island in a pond on the north side of the
Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, has a view of The Washington Monument. Each
signature is embossed with gold leaf.
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On to The Air Force Memorial >>
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