On My Walk in Washington

 

Washington in springtime has much more than cherry blossoms.  When I land

at National Airport, there are hundreds of magnolia trees all over and many

thousands of pansies in every color.  This is a magnolia tree in bloom.

I walk all around the city enjoying the flowers.

Magnolias come in various colors and varieties, but these had huge

waxy blossoms.

Magnolia blossoms across the street from the White House.

Magnolia blossoms fill the sky.

 

Next to the Tidal Basin with the cherry blossoms are test gardens from the Park Service
experimenting with new varieties of tulips.  This is a double yellow, "Dolly Madison."

Pale peach "Dainty Touch."

"Star Crossed Lover" Tulip

Two blocks away is the Freer Gallery with its beautiful courtyard filled with spring flowers. 

These are grape hyacinths.

A nice bus ride up Connecticut Avenue brings you to the National Cathedral.  On the south side,

and spreading down the hill, is the "Bishop's Garden," always filled with flowers.

"Archbishop Cranmer" was a regal looking tulip.

The cathedral with a flowering cherry tree on the hill.

Then I walk along Connecticut, which is lined with flowering cherry and flowering crabapple.

The statue is Tomas Masaryk.

On Sunday mornings, Dupont Circle has a Farmers' Market, and I never miss it.  All produce 

and flowers must be raised within 100 miles of the city.  There are flowers, fresh fruit 

and vegetables, artisanal cheeses, herbs, plants, meat raised organically, and much more. 

 It is wonderful and delightful.

White and pink hyacinths at the Dupont Farmers Market.

Pink hyacinths at the Dupont Farmers Market.  They also have branches of pear, peach,

quince, and apple trees, ready to burst into bloom.  Most of the people shopping are locals,

of course, and I envy them every time I go.

Blue and Pink Hyacinths at the Dupont Farmers Market.

Bouquets and plants for sale at Dupont Farmers Market

Daffodils begin to bloom much earlier than tulips, but varieties have been developed

which last for a long time.  These double yellow daffodils are "Delilah."

The streets around Dupont Circle are lined with private houses, and most take

great pride in the small but colorful gardens they maintain in front.  These were

in front of a house in the area.

Another short bus ride takes me to Dumbarton Oaks, in Georgetown, where I can walk 

around the houses and then visit the museums and the extensive gardens of the

 former estate Mr. and Mrs. Bliss.  Those are huge flowering cherry trees in back.

Giant White Flowering Cherry Tree at Dumbarton Oaks

As you walkdown the hillside, you walk through a mass of golden forsythia.

A park and the zoo are on the other side of the deep ravine.

A path at Dumbarton Oaks lined with Flowering Crabapple Trees.

Huge white flowering cherry trees.  There is also a Museum of Byzantine Art and

a Museum of Pre-Columbian Latin American Art on the grounds.

The Latin American Museum is a gem designed by Philip Johnson.

Young flowering crabapples.

Pink Phlox on a hillside at Dumbarton Oaks.

There are beds of pansies in every color all around the city.  Dumbarton Oaks,

the area around Dupont Circle, and the airport have thousands of them.

White daffodil with yellow trumpet throat at Dumbarton Oaks.

Yellow daffodils with orange trumpet throat.

Yellow daffodils with yellow trumpet throats.

Purple and white "Count of Toulouse" pansies.

Delft Blue Hyacinths and pink and white pansies at the Smithsonian.

Pale Blue Hyacinths with lovely fragrance.

Delft Blue Hyacinths

Outside the Freer Gallery of Asian Art is a Chinese Garden with a Moon Gate

and weeping cherry trees.

Between the Freer and the Main Smithsonian Building is a huge courtyard filled with

flowers and flowering bushes.

"Sunlight Yellow" Tulips

Pink "Mabel" Tulips

Forsythia bushes bloom all over town.

If you have never visited Washington the first weekend in April,

I recommend it highly.  It is memorable and colorful.

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