National Arboretum I

One of my all-time favorite Washington DC activities is a weekend visit to the US National Arboretum, one of the great botanical treasures in the United States. It's spectacular any time of year, but in early spring, the focus is on flowering trees, and this cherry specimen is simply breathtaking.

It's just beyond the National Herb Garden, the nation's largest, which was a gift in 1980 from the National Herb Society.  The garden's very formal design is the work of Thomas Wirth of Sasaki Associates Inc. of Boston, MA. It's roughly in the shape of an old-fashioned key, and it includes a sunken knot garden, a rose garden, and 10 separate speciality gardens (The Colonial Garden, The Native American Garden,  The Fragrance Garden, etc), each with plants relating to the theme.

Herb Garden visitors shouldn't miss the adjacent National Bonsai & Penjing Museum with a grand entrance lined with Cryptomeria japonica and about 150 miniature botanical gems.

(click on images for larger view)