Exploring More Botanical Gardens Located in the United States

In almost every state in the United States of America, you can find a Botanical Garden to visit. These gardens are full of a vast variety of plants, flowers, vegetables, fruits and herbs. Many are beautifully ornamented acres of land to stimulate every sense.

Some of the gardens we have already discovered include: Missouri, Chicago, New York and Atlanta. Today we are going to see what San Francisco and United States Botanical Garden in D.C. have to offer.

1) San Francisco Botanical Garden spans a vast 55 acres of extraordinary beauty which showcases over 9,000 different kinds of plants from all over the world. There is a nominal fee to get in, but the garden has reopened since the Corona virus shut them down. For the summer months of June-August you will find several plants highlighted. For example, in June, the candelabra tree which is a critically endangered conifer tree from South America is the primary focus. It resembles an evergreen tree and is evidenced to have been around for close to 200 million years. Due to extensive logging of this rare tree, it has become even more endangered. It also produces edible seeds that are so desirable that they are usually eaten before they can be dispersed and create new trees. In the month of July, the Holmholtzia glaberrima is in the spotlight. This beautiful flowering plant is also called the stream-lily or flax-lilly. It sports large panicles of white or pink flowers and only grows one seed leaf and is usually found in Australia, New Guinea and South Wales. August cameos the Aloe polyphylla, also called the Spiral aloe. The Aloe polyphylla was first gathered in 1915 by western botanists and was not formally described until 1934 by a South African botanist. The beautiful spiral looking growth structure of this plant has made it very desirable, which in turn has put it in the threat of being over harvested; adding to its rarity.

2) The United States Botanical Garden located in D.C. is closed at the moment due to Covid-19. It is planning to reopen and reschedule events and programs that have not been able to take place during this time. They are offering some virtual programs such as cooking demos and online yoga classes. There are many mini gardens inside the space including the beautiful Conservatory, the National Garden and Bartholdi Park. The Conservatory contains the Garden Court; offering beautiful flowers, foliage, food, beverages and much more. There is the Tropics, which is a tropical rainforest that has overtaken what used to be an abandoned plantation. The dome rises 93 feet tall and has a mezzanine level where visitors can view the jungle canopy from above. The Garden Primeval is a reconstructed Jurassic area that has been landscaped with ferns and other ancient plant groups that are still in existence for over 150 million years. The World Deserts are is filled with shrubs, grasses, flowering plants and succulents. Also, showcased is the Medicinal Plants which explores the origins of plant medicine with a collection of plants from all over the world. The Rare and Endangered Species area contains a display of plants and habitats that are rare, endangered or threatened. There is also a Children's Garden where the young ones can play outside in a garden and learn about their surroundings in an informal setting.

Every Botanical garden in the United States have such a wide variety of plants, flowers and learning to offer to every and all citizens of the world.