Sustainable Gardening Blog

Carol Allen has risen high enough in her field to become director of horticulture for the USBG, a very big deal in my book, so I was pretty impressed before even meeting her.  Expecting some sort of scientist, I was floored by this farmgirl, storyteller, outrageous ham in front of an audience.  Yeah, she wowed me and when she mentioned that she’s hiring gardeners for the new National Garden on the Mall, I almost applied on the spot.  Wouldn’t I practically pay for the privilege of helping with that?  Nice fantasy.

That’s how my mind was working last weekend when I taggled along with a garden club I don’t even belong to as they toured the Botanic Gardens production facilities with Carol Allen as their guide. We saw some of the USBG’s 34 greenhouses, which hold the collections of tropicals, medicinals, rare and endangered plants, orchids - well, everything, because this is the plant version of the Library of Congress. 

And Carol surprised us again with some good news - never expected here in D.C., especially at a federal facility - that this facility and the horticultural practices used therein are all sustainable, right down to their use of recyclable plastic pots.  And speaking of pots, despite the huge quantities of potted plants in these greenhouses, they’re all hand-watered.  In Carol’s words, "It takes a gardener."  Well, you bet it does, which is why I hand-water my own garden and would never consider installing an automatic system.  How I’d ever program my plants’ water needs is beyond me.  Then every time I move something I have to change the system, right? 

Before you go, treat yourself to a VIRTUAL TOUR of the Conservatory.  If you click "Conservatory Capitol Side" you’ll see one of my favorite spots in town for a brown-bag lunch.  To make the picture move 360 degrees, hold down your mouse and move it.