US Botanic Garden Celebrates 200 Years of Plants and Flowers
2020-03-14
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1Visitors come to the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. to enjoy many different plants, and the peace of nature.
2Anna Pavlova works nearby.
3She likes to come on short breaks during her workday, to find some peace.
4"It feels like a forest in a city so I can be thinking about something else besides work for even five minutes which is sometimes very nice."
5This year, the U.S. Botanic Garden celebrates its 200th anniversary.
6It was founded by two U.S. Presidents; George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
7Established in 1820, the Garden collects and grows plants.
8Its mission is to demonstrate the aesthetic, cultural, economic, therapeutic and ecological importance of plants to the well-being of humankind.
9The Garden on the National Mall, just down a hill from the U.S. Capitol building.
10The garden is made up of 65,000 indoor and outdoor plants.
11Some are more than 165 years old.
12Workers document and care for the plants.
13They are shared with the public for study purposes as well as pleasure.
14The Garden's conservatory, or greenhouse is a beautiful glass and steel building.
15Sunlight floods in, helping the plants grow.
16Rooms inside are home to plants that do well in different environments.
17For example, there is the warm and damp tropical room as well as the one that has desert conditions.
18Saharah Moon Chapotin is Executive Director of the U.S. Botanic Garden.
19She told VOA that "we still have a very important role to play in educating people about the importance of plants."
20She said this is especially true for people who live in cities, and may not have a connection to a farm, or clearly understand where food comes from.
21The newest exhibit, "Deeply Rooted, Branching Outward" covers the scientific exploration of plants. Chapotin hopes the garden will give visitors a "greater appreciation for plants," and how they help with every part of our daily lives.
22Among the garden's most loved plants are the 4,000 orchid that come from around the world.
23During the spring orchid show each year, many flowers bloom, including some that are endangered.
24During the Christmas season, a very popular exhibit has toy trains on tracks, moving through plants and structures made from plant-based materials.
25Another popular event at the Garden is the flowering of the rare, huge "corpse flower."
26It can go years in between blooms.
27The plant can grow to over 8 feet tall, and it known for its horrible smell-sometimes described as the smell of death.
28Something decidedly sweeter is the smell of roses when the weather turns warm in Washington, D.C.
29Many varieties and colors of these beautiful flowers, along with other outdoor plants, bloom at the Garden when warm weather and sunshine comes to town.
30That is when you find visitors and workers taking a break, walking the outdoor paths, looking at the water structures, and maybe even stopping to smell the roses.
31I'm Anne Ball.
1Visitors come to the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. to enjoy many different plants, and the peace of nature. 2Anna Pavlova works nearby. She likes to come on short breaks during her workday, to find some peace. 3"It feels like a forest in a city so I can be thinking about something else besides work for even five minutes which is sometimes very nice." 4This year, the U.S. Botanic Garden celebrates its 200th anniversary. It was founded by two U.S. Presidents; George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Established in 1820, the Garden collects and grows plants. Its mission is to demonstrate the aesthetic, cultural, economic, therapeutic and ecological importance of plants to the well-being of humankind. 5The Garden on the National Mall, just down a hill from the U.S. Capitol building. The garden is made up of 65,000 indoor and outdoor plants. Some are more than 165 years old. Workers document and care for the plants. They are shared with the public for study purposes as well as pleasure. 6The Garden's conservatory, or greenhouse is a beautiful glass and steel building. Sunlight floods in, helping the plants grow. Rooms inside are home to plants that do well in different environments. For example, there is the warm and damp tropical room as well as the one that has desert conditions. 7Saharah Moon Chapotin is Executive Director of the U.S. Botanic Garden. 8She told VOA that "we still have a very important role to play in educating people about the importance of plants." She said this is especially true for people who live in cities, and may not have a connection to a farm, or clearly understand where food comes from. 9The newest exhibit, "Deeply Rooted, Branching Outward" covers the scientific exploration of plants. Chapotin hopes the garden will give visitors a "greater appreciation for plants," and how they help with every part of our daily lives. 10Among the garden's most loved plants are the 4,000 orchid that come from around the world. During the spring orchid show each year, many flowers bloom, including some that are endangered. 11During the Christmas season, a very popular exhibit has toy trains on tracks, moving through plants and structures made from plant-based materials. 12Another popular event at the Garden is the flowering of the rare, huge "corpse flower." It can go years in between blooms. The plant can grow to over 8 feet tall, and it known for its horrible smell-sometimes described as the smell of death. 13Something decidedly sweeter is the smell of roses when the weather turns warm in Washington, D.C. Many varieties and colors of these beautiful flowers, along with other outdoor plants, bloom at the Garden when warm weather and sunshine comes to town. 14That is when you find visitors and workers taking a break, walking the outdoor paths, looking at the water structures, and maybe even stopping to smell the roses. 15I'm Anne Ball. 16Deborah Block reported this story for VOA News. Anne Ball adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 17We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. 18________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20aesthetic - adj. of or relating to art or beauty 21therapeutic - adj. producing good effects on your body or mind 22appreciation - n. a feeling of being grateful for something 23endangered - adj. used to describe a type of animal or plant that has become very rare and that could die out completely 24bloom - v. to produce flowers