Nearby Destinations for Silver Springers to Get a Garden Fix

As winter approaches, gardeners all over Silver Spring and the DC region hole up inside with garden catalogs and start to make lists of “must have” plants.

Still, paper and online only gets you so far, they yearn to get out and smell the chlorophyll. If you are starting to feel a green withdrawal and cannot afford a spur-of-the-moment trip to the tropics, look to one of the many local public gardens for solace.

Just a few miles north of downtown Silver Spring is Brookside Gardens. They have a nightly seasonal light show (for a fee), but there is still much to see during the day in the gardens and a train show in the warm conservatory. Brookside also offers art displays, classes, and tours. Explore their offerings at  and plan your visit.

A short metro ride away is the US Botanic Garden. On the National Mall and in the shadow of the US Capitol building, it is one of the few area attractions that is open ever day - including Christmas!

Like Brookside, there is a large, heated conservatory with a seasonal train show. But the US Botanic Garden also offers permanent climate areas that will have you thinking of summer-time. There is a desert area, a bog, and a tropical rainforest. This is one of my favorite destinations in the dead of winter to get the chill off. The fragrance from the flowering plants perfumes the moist air and you feel like you can really breathe once again.

A short drive through Rock Creek Park brings you to the Hillwood Estate. The former home of American collector and heiress to the Post cereal empire Marjorie Merriweather Post is jam-packed with her collections of French porcelain and Russian icons. What you want to do is make a bee-line for the orchid house and drink in the hundreds of blooms with all your senses. Don’t forget your camera!

One local, seldom-visited resource for gardeners is the National Agricultural Library. It sits just outside the Beltway at Route 1. It is open weekdays during business hours and is free to visit. The library’s collection is not limited to just books and periodicals. It also boasts samples and seeds picked up by USDA plant explorers from all over the world. Also in its collection is an amazing treasure-trove of botanical art, much of which comes from American seed catalogs of the past few centuries.

One final way to enjoy plants this season is to visit your local garden center or nursery. Buy a few indoor plants for yourself and for those on your gift list. Seeing something living and green n your desk or in your window is a wonderful reminder that spring is just around the corner.

Kathy Jentz is editor of Washington Gardener magazine and is a long-time DC area gardening enthusiast. Washington Gardener is all about gardening where you live. She can be reached at www.washingtongardener.com and welcomes your gardening questions.