Event details:
Live DJ: Vibe to the music and artistry of DJ Adrian Loving as he sets the mood for the evening with Tropical Downtempo and House music!
Full Bars: Two full bars serving cocktails, mocktails, and more!
Venus Flytrap Pop-up: Pick up your own Venus flytrap at our Garden Pop-Up Shop (along with other amazing items!)
Solve the Plant Murder Mystery! Become a botanical detective and solve a Garden whodunit: which plant was involved in a mysterious murder? Follow the clues, investigate the evidence, and see if you can crack the case before the night is over!
Costume Contest: Judges are walking around the event handing out finalist buttons to our favorite looks of the night! Return to the Garden Court at 8 PM to see all the fantastic costumes and learn who wins the big prizes!
Gift Shop: Check out our full gift shop! Purchases help support our educational mission.
Food: Empanadas De Mendoza will be on-site cooking up sweet and savory empanadas and churros, perfect for fall!
Spell Jar: Create your own botanical magic at this DIY station with an assortment of dried botanicals and other natural ingredients.
Friends of the USBG Table: Learn more about the Friends, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to inspiring active environmental stewardship through educational programs in partnership with the U.S. Botanic Garden. Collect your whodunit prize here!
Conservatory Room Details:
Garden Court: The colorful foliage, flowers, and pools create a beautiful setting to feature economic and ethnobotanical plants used in products that provide our fibers, food, beverages, clothing, shelter, fuel, cosmetics, and more, nourishing and protecting us.
The Tropics: A tropical forest, with a dome that rises to 93 feet and a raised mezzanine level from which to view the forest canopy. Tropical forests are a vital ecosystem on the Earth—providing food, regulating climate, influencing hydrological cycles, sequestering carbon, and supporting more biodiversity than any other habitat.
Plant Adaptations: Plants have evolved to live in various ecosystems. This house shows some of the fascinating adaptations that plants have developed.
Primeval Garden: Transporting us back 150 million years, this garden represents a glimpse of the world before flowering plants dominated the landscape.
Hawaii: A collection plants native to Hawaii. Because of geographic isolation, plant life on Hawaii evolved into a unique flora.
World Deserts: Filled with cacti, succulents, and other desert plants, this house show how plants in the deserts of the world have adapted to extreme aridity in a variety of ways.
Medicinal Plants: People have used plants in medicinal remedies for thousands of years. Today, scientists continue to build upon and incorporate traditional knowledge of plant-based compounds into modern medicine. This house displays a collection of medicinal plants from around the world.
Orchids: Orchids, with their fascinating diversity of smells, shapes, colors, and pollinators help many visitors fall in love with plants. This house showcases an ever-blooming, ever-changing display of these engaging plants. The USBG orchid collection numbers about 3,000 specimens, with hundreds on display at any given time.
Mediterranean: Mediterranean climates, found in five areas around the world, provide many familiar fruits and other foods in our diet. Explore the plants, culture, and food of the world's Mediterranean climatic regions.
Plant Conservation: The U.S. Botanic Garden, in cooperation with other organizations, actively participates in the conservation of rare plants to ensure their survival. This house showcases conservation stories of rare, threatened, or endangered plants.
Southern Exposure: Gardeners can take advantage of growing conditions influenced by heat-trapping topography, surrounding buildings, and masses such as concrete or rock. This outdoor micro-climate shows plants normally found in climates further south than D.C. **Closed for this event**
Children’s Garden: Children along with their families explore nature, especially plants, through play and sensory experiences. **Closed for this event**
West Gallery: Host to changing exhibits designed to delight, educate, and inspire visitors.
