Winter window vignettes

Our window vignettes are filled with remarkable representations of National Mall buildings and monuments, all crafted from more than 70 different plant materials, some of which were collected onsite at the U.S. Botanic Garden!

*Plants Collected at the Garden are denoted by an asterisk

 

ABOUT OUR PLANT-BASED MODELS

Each building is a unique masterpiece constructed on a frame of acrylic-based foam. Casting resin is poured into the window cutouts, wall surfaces are finished with sand-based grout, and distinctive architectural details are fashioned from dried plant materials.

Since 2004, the Garden has collaborated with Applied Imagination of Alexandria, KY to create these plant-based sculptures.

 

East Gallery (East Door)

U.S. Capitol

DOME

sycamore leaves, willow twigs, seagrass twine, wheat, winged euonymus, ferns, Indian screw tree fruits, acorns, pine cone scales

ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS

acorn caps, wheat, bamboo, raffia

STATUE OF FREEDOM AND OTHER FIGURES

shelf fungus, corn husks, reeds, acorns, pine cone scales, grapevines, chestnut bark, beech nuts

FAÇADE

horse chestnut, elm bark, pine cone scales, willow twigs, dusty miller, winged euonymus, cinnamon, wheat

 

 

Union Station

ROOF

cedar bark, reeds

COLUMNS

mahogany fruit, willow twigs, honeysuckle twigs, cinnamon, palm leaves, spruce twigs, oak bark

TRIM

walnut bark, seagrass, cattails, willow twigs, reeds, chaste tree seeds

STATUES

corn husks, ring pods, tulip poplar seeds, Cedrela fruits, sago palm cone scales, palm flowers, cinnamon, birch bark, walnut shells, winged euonymus, eucalyptus fruits, birch twigs, Dysoxlum fruits, zinnia flowers

EAGLES

digger pine cone scales, Leucadendron fruits, sago palm cone scales

 

 

U.S. Capitol Grounds and Arboretum, Summerhouse

pine bark, sequoia bark, sugar palm inflorescence, lotus fruits, shelf fungus, grapevines, willow twigs, honeysuckle branch, bamboo, gourd, woody pear fruits

 

 

East Gallery (North Door)

U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory, 1850-1933

birch bark, winged euonymus, reeds, autumn olive branch, oak bark, sequoia bark, honeysuckle, loblolly pine pinecone*, hickory bark, juniper cone, willow twigs, bamboo leaf, dawn redwood cone, pinecone axis, acorn cap, cedar cones, sugar pine pinecone, alder fruits

 

U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory Palm House, 1867 - 1933

horse chestnut bark, birch bark, honeysuckle branch, reeds, winged euonymus twigs, star anise, oak bark, peppercorns, cardboard plant leaves, lily infructescence, dawn redwood cone, mahogany fruit, bamboo, grapevines, Virginia pine pinecone*, eucalyptus fruits, willow twigs, wisteria, Dregea fruit, Harry Lauder’s walking stick, gourds, bamboo, magnolia pedicels, acorn caps, persimmon calyx*, she-oak fruits, white cedar cones, palm infructescence

 

Fountain of Light and Water (Bartholdi Fountain)

Harry Lauder’s walking stick, date vine, tobacco leaves, grapevine, seashells, turkey tail fungus, shelf fungus, catalpa fruit, Chamaecrista leaves, red pine cones, acorns, acorn caps, white pine cones, galls, jacaranda fruits, araucaria branches, cinnamon, Indian screw tree fruits, cloves, gourd, horse chestnut bark, palm tendrils, palm fronds

 

 

Lobby Door

U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory, 1933-present day

STRUCTURE

horse chestnut, willow twigs, salt cedar bark, honeysuckle, mahogany fruit, oak, winged euonymus twigs, hickory bark, salal leaves, acorns, grapevines, birch branch, Chamaecrista leaves, magnolia pedicels, moss 

GROTESQUES (SCULPTED FACES)

dusty miller, grapevines, mesquite fruits, Virginia pinecones*, longleaf pinecones*, banana infructescence stem*, persimmon calyx*, eucalyptus seed

 

National Museum of African American History & Culture

UPPER WINDOW CASINGS & DECORATIONS

walnut shells, birch twigs

ROOF & SOLAR PANELS

locust bark, royal poinciana fruit, elm

GROUND FLOOR WINDOWS / SUPPORT BASE

bamboo, horse chestnut

VIEWING PORTS ON UPPER LEVELS

salal leaves

TRIM ON EDGES OF FLOORS

forsythia twigs

 

 

Washington Monument

FAÇADE

sycamore leaves, seagrape leaves, moss

 

 

National Museum of the American Indian

ROOF

horse’s hoof fungus, red-belted conk, varnished conk, pigeon plum leaf, turkey tail fungus

WALLS

cork oak, deer bone and antler, river rock, slate, shells, sand dollar, moss

 

 

West Gallery (North Door)

 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

breadfruit leaves*, bamboo leaves*, cardboard plant leaves*, Macarthur palm leaves*, maple leaves, tobacco leaves, horse chestnut bark, cinnamon, cloves

 

National Gallery of Art, East Building

horse chestnut, driftwood, ash, birch, lily inflorescence*, bamboo, cork, moss, grapevines, carrotwood fruits, baobab fruits, conebush infructescence, grout