Botanic Gardens

Botanic Gardens

It may still be winter, but perhaps this image can evoke a promise of Spring.

As early as 1820, President James Monroe put forth the idea of a "national greenhouse,"
close by the Capitol building. Back then, the area was rather unappealing swampland.

The present day U.S. Botanic Gardens sits close by the Capitol,
along the Mall on Independence Avenue. It dates from 1933.

The impressive greenhouse went through a four year renovation and reopened to the public in 2001.

This image was captured on Ilford XP2 Super. It was actually taken on
a late summer day, but the result suggests Springtime to me.
The skies over Washington that day were laced with glorious,
ever changing formations of cirrus clouds against the deep blue,
providing abundant inspiration for walking about with my Contax G2,
its 45 mm Zeiss Planar T* lens wearing a red #25 filter.

The photograph, part of an extensive portfolio of Washington scenes in black and white,
is available in archival gallery prints, and as a custom printed Photo Note Card.

©Steve Ember

And across Independence Avenue...