Fun Ideas from the Children's Garden at the U.S. National Arboretum

My husband and I enjoyed a walk in the U.S. National Arboretum's Children's Garden, more formally known as the Washington Youth Garden. I thought they had some clever gardening ideas and hope you enjoy the photos. Above is a garden room created by leaving space in a three walled giant sunflower garden. The sunflowers aren't blooming yet but I thought this was a neat idea and it will look even more fantastic once the giant sunflowers show their sunny yellow faces.

Here is a mini garden in a wheelbarrow. The radish seedlings are already up (and I'm thrilled to find out that I'm not the only one growing seedlings in this heat) and it looks like their flower seedlings will soon sprout.

 They have colorful signs with plant names. The photo above is from the herb garden section but they also have a berry bush section, at least two butterfly gardens, a huge vegetable garden and more.

 This giant bird seems like the garden's mascot and probably serves as a scarecrow too.

Seeing this literal garden bed made me smile and probably laugh out loud. I thought it was a highly creative idea.

If you live in the Washington D.C. area and have kids (or just like interesting gardens), you'll probably enjoy the Washington  Youth Garden. The vegetable, herb and fruit gardens aren't always open to the public (even with the main part of the U.S. National Arboretum is open) so you might want to call ahead and make sure the gates will be unlocked before driving over.

May God bless you this summer and always!

Herb Day At US Botanic Garden

After enjoying Garden Fest at the Smithsonian Castle we walked up to the US Botanic Gardens and were thrilled to find their Herb Day celebration. What a blessing to encounter two great events in one day! As you can see from the sign above there was a lot going on but there were even more activities than what was listed on the sign. There was also herbal tea making, herbal greeting card crafts, herbal fairy dust making (in the children's garden), interactive educational displays throughout the gardens and more.

Here's a rabbit (sculpture) hiding in a bed of lamb's ears.

A brightly colored bird house in the Children's Garden.

 I loved this herb garden poster.

And this herb poster caught my eye too. The US Botanic Garden is free (although donations are accepted) and has many different sections with an amazing variety of plants.

It was fun to celebrate herbs at the US Botanic Garden. At home, we grow a variety of herbs (not nearly as many as the US Botanic Garden though) and it's nice to just snip off the amount you need for dinner right before cooking. Do you grow or use herbs?

May God bless you!