Visit to the Arboretum

Laura and I visited what is probably one of the most overlooked of the DC area's many free museums - the Arboretum. Part research lab, part museum, part landscaped park, I really enjoyed all the herbs. I had no idea there were so many kinds of Basil. Many flowering plants, as well, even though it is August. Springtime is quite colorful, I imagine. Below are two photos of a bee, speckled with pollen, drinking nectar. She wasn't camera-shy, but did seem to get annoyed a bit when the camera got too close. The flowers (I don't know the variety) really did seem to glow white in their centers -that's not photo-editing.

There were also about 200 examples of Japanese bonsai and Chinese penjing (Chinese for 'bonsai') on display. Many were in the 80-120 year-old time-frame, but others were older. I think the oldest example was just shy of 600 years old.