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United States Botanic Garden entrance by Daniel Mietchen –

Top 10 Facts about the US Botanic Garden

The United States Botanic Garden is a botanical garden on the grounds of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The Botanic Garden is supervised by Congress through the Architect of the Capitol, who is responsible for maintaining the grounds of the United States Capitol. The United States Botanic Garden is open every day of the year, including federal holidays. 

It is the oldest continually-operating botanic garden in the United States. The garden looks like many federal buildings from the outside: A lot of neutral stone exterior with plenty of stately arches. But the distinguished glass and aluminum of the conservatory peek out from behind, telling visitors that they鈥檙e approaching the guardian of a vast array of stunning flora and fauna.

Here are the top 10 facts about the US Botanic Garden

1. America鈥檚 founding fathers were at the forefront of creating the Botanic Garden

George Washington built a greenhouse at Mount Vernon for his collection of rare and exotic greenery, and Thomas Jefferson pursued and promoted many plant species. That passion for horticulture also drove their desire to see their fledgling nation develop a botanic garden of its own to study agriculture, and documents from around Washington鈥檚 presidency offer glimpses of the discussion on proposed locations for such a garden.

They developed the original Botanic Garden, and in 1818 Congress approved an act to incorporate the Institute in a 20-year charter and granted approval for it to cultivate a five-acre parcel of land. Two years later, the Institute established a garden on the western side of the Capitol, bounded by First and Third Streets NW and Pennsylvania and Maryland Avenues NW.

2. The United States Botanic Garden was turned over to the federal government in 1837

Greenhouse of the United States Botanic Garden with the U.S. Capitol in the background by Fletcher6 –

After visiting the garden in 1830, Francis Barnes wrote a letter to explain his offer to lease it as a pleasure garden and charge visitors an entry fee, assuring Institute members to make the Garden an ornament to the Metropolis and the Country at large.  This would also afford the members of the Institute and to the respectable citizens of Washington and to strangers visiting the Seat of Government.

By the time its congressional charter expired in 1838, It became federal property once again, but the government paid it no heed until 1850 when the findings from the U.S. Exploring Expedition were in need of a home.

3. After years in front of the Capitol, the United States Botanic garden was moved to its present home in 1933

By the turn of the century, there was a growing sentiment among the leaders on the Hill to return to Pierre L鈥橢nfant鈥檚 grand vision for the capital city. The McMillan Plan of 1902 detailed the steps to return to the original plan and improve the Mall. 

One of the Mall鈥檚 problems singled out by the plan was the Botanic Garden鈥檚 current location. 鈥淔rom the Mall system the grounds are cut off by the Botanic Garden, walled and fenced so as to block the way,鈥� the authors of the plan wrote of the Capitol. The authors wanted to return to L鈥橢nfant鈥檚 vision of an 鈥渙rganic connection between the Capitol and the Mall,鈥� which meant the Botanic Garden was to be uprooted again.

4. The sculptor of the Statue of Liberty rests outside the  United States Botanic Garden鈥檚 conservatory

1997 United States Botanic Garden Dollar Obverse by United States Mint –

French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi designed his namesake fountain for the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The 30-foot fountain weighs roughly 30,440 pounds, and its weight was partly a factor in how Congress came to purchase it.

Bartholdi had been unsuccessfully seeking a buyer for it, and he reportedly didn鈥檛 want to pay to transport the heavy work back to France. So Congress snapped up the cast-iron work for $6,000 half of its estimated value and Frederick Law Olmsted included it in his landscaping plans for the Capitol grounds, placing it in the botanic garden grounds.

5. The United States Botanic garden consists of three locations

These locations include the Conservatory, Bartholdi Park, and the Production Facility. The Conservatory is housed in a Lord & Burnham greenhouse. It is divided into separate rooms, each simulating a different habitat. 

Except for the Hawaiian house, the galleries, and the south lobby, none of the conservatories has air conditioning. Each room is closely monitored by computer-operated sensors to maintain the environment best suited to the plants in that room. Humidity, sunlight, and temperature are regulated by means of a misting system, retractable shades, and levered windows. All plants are watered daily by hand. 

6. In 2017, staffers went on the United States Botanic Garden鈥檚 first plant-collecting trip in about 150 years

United States Botanic Garden, Washington, D.C. by King of Hearts –

After the initial expedition that led to the Botanic Garden鈥檚 reinvigoration, there wasn鈥檛 a need for continued collection ventures. Specimens were donated or shared from a variety of sources.

But in 2017, the USBG underwent its first collaborative plant-collecting trip to the Philippines since that haul and discovered a new variety of the corpse flower, Amorphophallus yaoi. The large, stinky corpse flowers (they blossom intermittently so it鈥檚 impossible to know when the next time the stench will waft through the garden) are popular with visitors. A 2013 bloom drew an impressive 130,000 people seeking a sniff.

7. Some of the United States Botanic Garden鈥檚 holdings come from illicit donations

Some of the garden鈥檚 holdings come from border officials in the form of confiscations of plants attempted to be smuggled into the country. Not all plants are intentionally smuggled but many are intended for the black market.

Determining the exact species can be a challenge, as smugglers often mislabel the plants, and it can take years to determine what the plant is. The garden is one of dozens of centers across the country that accept plants confiscated under the international treaty known as the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora.

8. There are four plants in the United States Botanic Garden that are believed to be directly related to the original Wilkes Expedition

Brighamia insignis at the United States Botanic Gardens by Sarah Stierch –

The Wilkies Expendion was of major importance to the growth of science in the United States, in particular the then-young field of oceanography. During the event, armed conflict between Pacific islanders and the expedition was common and dozens of natives were killed in action, as well as a few Americans. 

The Vessel Fern is a fern believed to be the direct progeny of the Vessel Fern brought back on Wilkes’ ship. The Ferocious Blue Cycad is a cycad questionably one of the original Wilkes plants. Due to its size and possible age, some believe this plant to have come back with the expedition in 1842. The Botanic Garden cares for both a male and a female of the Queen Sagos species, and both were brought back with the Wilkes Expedition.

9. The United States Botanic Garden added its first green roof in 2019

In October, the Botanic Garden established its first green roof on the conservatory in a research project with scientists from the University of Maryland. Many green roofs traditionally use sedum, a hardy plant that features succulent leaves and clusters of flowers, but only half of the 29,000 plants placed on the conservatory roof are sedum.

The other half is native grasses, according to Botanic Garden spokesperson Devin Dotson. The researchers are looking to compare how the native grasses perform versus the common green roof plant material.

10. Only about 30 to 50 percent of the United States Botanic Garden鈥檚 plants are on display daily

The Botanic Garden has roughly 65,000 plants, though most of them are at its production facility in Anacostia. That greenhouse complex was completed in 1993, and it has 85,000 square feet under glass. 

The facility is not open to the public except for an annual open house, but workers frequently shuttle plants back and forth, whether changing out an exhibition or swapping in blooming orchids for ones past their prime. And among some of the Botanic Garden鈥檚 most celebrated holdings is its orchid collection, with about 4,000 plants.