As in years past, the summer flowers in Friendship Heights are extraordinary. Click on the large arrow below to see a video featuring a few of the most attractive displays! Note that the opening photo was made at Wisconsin Place, near Whole Foods Market. The accompanying tune - played music-box style - is a variation of Country Gardens, a very old English folk song.
Clockwise from top left, the Residences of the Ambassadors of The European Union, Cyprus and Colombia and the Embassy of Slovenia - Click to enlarge
Friends of Woodrow Wilson House, in the heart of Washington's Embassy Row, will host the 27th Anniversary Kalorama House and Embassy Tour on Sunday, September 18. Several Washington Embassies and outstanding private residences in the Kalorama neighborhood will be open for tours. The event benefits Woodrow Wilson House, which is a National Trust Historic Site. Tour participants can have rare opportunities to visit sites of diplomatic entertaining and can explore the many cultures represented by the official ambassadors from foreign countries living in the neighborhood. Nowhere else but in Washington, DC and on our famous Embassy Row can you experience a mix of so many cultures and architectural gems. Wilson House, Washington’s only presidential museum, will be open as well. Residences on the tour will include the homs of The Ambassador of the European Union to the US The Ambassador of Cyprus. The Ambassador of Colombia. The host notes that “All tickets must be purchased in advance…..and only 750 tickets will be available. Please note that tickets will not be available for sale on tour day as in the past. For security purposes the name of each ticket holder must be supplied in advance and some form of identification presented when tickets are issued at will call.” A Pre-Tour Brunch Package is available for $75 and will feature a seated brunch at the Whittemore House on Dupont Circle. The historic house is home to the Woman’s National Democratic Club, and is informally called "the Whittemore house" because it was built in 1892-94 for Sarah Adams Whittemore, an opera singer and member of the distinguished Adams family of Massachusetts.
The Twig, the Junior Auxiliary of Inova Alexandria Hospital, will present The 70th Annual Historic Alexandria Homes Tour & Marketplace on Saturday, September 24. The tour will feature six private residences and gardens in Old Town. Proceeds will benefit the Hospital, which is located in Alexandria, VA, and the The Twig Surgical Center.
Brookside Gardens will present Intentional Labyrinth Walks at the Labyrinth in Gude Garden on Sundays, September 18, October 19 and November 24. Each month's labyrinth walk has a different intention, which is listed on the Brookside Gardens web site under Events. Mike Clarridge, who built and maintains the labyrinth, will be leading the walks. In case of inclement weather, the walks will be held the following day.
Labyrinth in Gude Garden - Courtesy of Brookside Gardens - Click to enlarge
Blue Tiger Butterfly from "Wings of Fancy" - Courtesy of Brookside Gardens - Click to enlarge
Brookside Gardens is presenting "Wing of Fancy" - A Live Butterfly Exhibit through September 18.
From "Wings of Fancy" Cethosia Biblis Common Lacewing - Courtesy of Brookside Gardens - Click to enlarge
Green Genes: Mapping the Plant World - Courtesy of the U.S. Botanic Garden - Click to enlarge
The U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory is featuring very large-format images made by photographers Robert Llewellyn and Andrea Ottesen in an exhibit titled Flora Photographica: A Study in Contrast through October 16. “Bold, crisp and colorfully arresting images of plants” are juxtaposed to “elegant, deeply detailed and gently provocative studies in plant form.” The two artists will present a discussion, moderated by exhibit curator Lillian Fitzgerald, and a tour of the exhibition on October 6.
The U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG) is exhibiting Green Genes: Mapping the Plant World, through October 10. Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus' observation of flower parts in the 18th century led him to define the current system by which we classify the more than 300,000 species of plants. Scientists are now “rearranging the plant family ‘tree of life’ by studying the accumulation of changes in so-called ‘clock genes’ that chart the course of evolution.” Although the genes are, of course, not visible, visitors can obtain some surprising and new insights into plant relationships by observing plants at the USBG.
Historic Mount Vernon is offering a New Walking Tour titled Mount Vernon in the Civil War on Saturdays & Sundays, through October 30. Visitors can experience a unique side of Civil War history at George Washington’s home through the new tour. They can explore historic locations and hear dramatic Civil War stories in the historic setting.
