Azalea flowers are creating a beautiful cascade of colors on Mount Hamilton right now. More and more Kurume and Glenn Dale azalea varieties are blooming each day. Peak bloom for these cultivar groups is coming up, approximately April 13th to 21st.

The National Arboretum has a high diversity of azaleas growing in its collections, each with its own unique bloom time. Different azalea varieties will be blooming throughout the collection up until June.

The Arboretum's Azalea Collections receive a lot of visitors this time of year. Please keep these following things in mind when visiting this spring:

• Plan your weekend visit as early in the day as possible or visit on a weekday to avoid crowds.
• Please stay on trail paths and out of garden beds to avoid damaging valuable germplasm.
• Dogs must remain on leash at all times. Please keep them on trails and out of garden beds.
• Cars can park along the right side of Eagle Nest Road in front of the Azalea Collections while the temporary spring traffic plan is in effect. When parking along the road, please keep all four tires on the road. This not only protects the grass from damage, but also prevents cars from getting stuck in the soft ground. Car owners are responsible for towing their vehicles if they get stuck in the grass.

The Garden Fair & Plant Sale is just over two weeks away on Saturday, April 27th! In addition to having thousands of plants for sale (plant lists coming soon), free kids activities, and a gardening workshop, there will also be 45 local vendors in attendance. Here's the vendors who will be in attendance this year.

Plants & Garden Accessories

• Boujie Plants
• Bruce Ciske Pottery
• Cultivate the City
• Deep Roots Farm
• Easco Bonsai Trees
• flowers x flores
• John Riley Pottery
• LIVLIG
• Peasant's Parcel
• Potomac Unit, Herb Society of America
• Radical Roots Organic Farm
• Seven Bends Nursery
• The Pot Guy

Art & Gifts

• D’BohoMama
• Down2EarthPottery
• Fern & Folly
• Gentrified Wood
• I See Spain
• Jennifer Pizzillo Arts
• JG Fine Art
• K&S Wood Crafts
• Printy Pots

Clothing & Fiber Products

• Bailiwick Clothing Company
• bianca + jean
• OJeanne Fashion House

Food & Drink

• Ana's Twist
• Blossom Bakery (food truck)
• Cookie YAY
• DC Slices (food truck)
• JackiCan Fresh Fruit Jams
• Paste & Rind
• Pearl Fine Teas
• Zeke’s Coffee of DC

Jewelry & Beauty Products

• Allergy Friendly Soaps
• Aromas Fragrance Co.
• By Alysha
• Casey Julia Designs
• Fragrance Of Life
• Inti Phaxsi Gems
• Shade Metals
• Sungh

Information

• Bartlett Tree Experts
• DC Beekeepers Alliance
• Friends of the National Arboretum
• Harris Teeter
• National Links Trust
• U.S. National Arboretum
• Washington Gardener Magazine

The Morrison Garden is the jewel of the Azalea Collection, containing a large portion of our Glenn Dale Azaleas. These were hybridized by Benjamin Y. Morrison, the first director of the National Arboretum, at the Plant Introduction Station in Glenn Dale, Maryland, starting in 1937. His goal was to produce large-flowered azaleas with a wide range of bloom times, filling a gap in the market that was present at the time. The breeding program produced 454 named plants, and many more that remained unnamed and were planted on Mount Hamilton at the Arboretum.

The flowers can be shades of pink, purple, red, or white, and may be striped, spotted or sanded on a white base. Make sure to visit the Morrison Garden and Glenn Dale Hillside to appreciate the beauty of these historical Arboretum introductions en masse.

Kamala Codrington-White, an ORISE fellow at the National Arboretum, shares plants of note at the Arboretum in this recurring segment. Find these plants on your next trip to the Arboretum. Photo by U.S. National Arboretum.

April is all about gardening! Celebrate National Gardening Day this Sunday, April 14th by getting outdoors, getting your hands in soil, and cultivating whatever plants you love to grow.

April is also Native Plant Month in Washington, DC. Native plants have evolved to provide important ecosystem benefits to the area they are native to. These benefits include providing food and habitat to birds, pollinators, and mammals, as well as water and soil conservation.

The recognition of DC's Native Plant Month is driven by four local chapters of the Garden Club of America: the Perennial Garden Club, Georgetown Garden Club, Garden Club of Chevy Chase, and Trowel Garden Club.

Learn More About the GCA's Native Plant Month Initiative >

Visit the Exhibits Gallery of the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum from April 12th to 21st for a free ikebana exhibition. This annual exhibit is hosted by the Washington, DC Chapter of Ikebana International, and will feature flower arrangements representing a variety of ikebana schools and styles.

The exhibits will change out on April 15th and 18th, so plan return visits to see everything. There will also be free ikebana demonstrations in the Visitor Center on April 13th, 14th, 20th, and 21st from 1 PM to 2:30 PM.

Register today for the children's ikebana workshop on Sunday, April 21st from 1 PM to 2:30 PM. This workshop will show children ages 8 to 15 how to make their own ikebana flower arrangements to take hodme and share. Tickets are $15 to cover the cost of materials, registration is required.

Register for the Children's Workshop >

Garden Fair & Plant Sale

April 27, 9 AM - 4 PM

Plants, vendors, workshop, free activities

Details & Registration >

Music in the Meadow: Cumbia Heights

May 17, 7 PM - 8:30 PM

Evening concert with alt-tropical vibes

Save the date — details to come

Grow the Garden Party

June 8, 11 AM - 1 PM

Celebrating the expansion of WYG

Save the date — details to come

Music in the Meadow: Wylder

June 8, 7 PM - 8:30 PM

Evening concert with modern folk vibes

Save the date — details to come

Forest Bathing Walks

Various dates and times

Meditation and mindfulness

Upcoming Dates & Registration >