Tiptoe Through the Tulips..of the Law!

Spring is in full swing in Seattle! The cherry trees blossomed a few weeks ago, this weekend was warm and sunny, and the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is in full bloom!

For garden enthusiasts and aspiring botanists, botanical gardens are often great places to visit. Seattle has several wonderful spots --from the Washington Park Arboretum to the Volunteer Park Conservatory to the Carl S. Jr. English Botanical Garden near the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Ballard.

Congress also has a garden! In fact, the United States Botanic Garden is part of the federal legislative branch. President George Washington himself suggested that a botanic garden be part of the nation's planned capitol in 1796, and President James Monroe signed a bill in 1820, which led to the position of the garden next to the Capitol building. The Garden continues to promote botanical knowledge and plant conservation to this day.

If you can't make it to Washington, D.C., check out A Botanic Garden for the Nation, by Anne-Catherine Fallen, available at QK73.U62 U553 2007 in the Classified Stacks.

[Photo credit to: Scott Lechner, dbaron, and dbking.]