Escape the winter cold and step into a floral oasis in the Kogod Courtyard with Orchids: Amazing Adaptations. A joint collaboration with Smithsonian Gardens, United States Botanic Garden, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and National Portrait Gallery, this installation fills the courtyard with hundreds of orchids of stunning variety. The installation showcases how orchids have adapted to their many different environments and can be found on every single continent except Antarctica. Orchids: Amazing Adaptations is part of Habitat, a Smithsonian Gardens–wide exhibition exploring the importance of habitats and how we can help protect them. Habitat is the first in a series of changing exhibitions connecting all of Smithsonian Gardens’ spaces with a single theme. From 2019 to 2020, Habitat will feature a variety of indoor and outdoor displays, exhibits, and educational programs.

Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty at the National Museum of Natural History was the 2015 joint Smithsonian Gardens and U.S. Botanic Garden annual orchid exhibit. The 2015 exhibit explored how new ideas, technologies, and inventions are changing the way we study, protect, and enjoy orchids.

The advent of book publishing ushered in an exuberant age of plant exploration and discovery. Plants in Print: The Age of Botanical Discovery, a collaboration between the U.S. Botanic Garden and the Chicago Botanic Garden, shares the rich history of botany and plant exploration with a nationwide audience.

“Orchids: Hidden Stories of Groundbreaking Women” unearths stories of women who have enriched our understanding and appreciation of orchids. Despite their remarkable achievements in art, botanical illustration, orchid cultivation and scientific discovery, many of the featured women have not received the recognition they deserve. “Orchids: Hidden Stories of Groundbreaking Women” highlights these unsung horticultural heroines and solidifies their ongoing influence on orchid collections. Visitors can see the exhibit and its accompanying orchid display at the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard, shared by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. This exhibit is a collaboration between U.S. Botanic Garden and Smithsonian Gardens.

Illustrating Hidden Treasures: Botanical Art by Wendy Hollender (West Gallery, September 1 - October 25, 2015) explored the belowground structures of plants through the botanical art of Wendy Hollender. On display in the West Gallery were several pieces by this celebrated artist who owns her own farm in the Catskills where she lives, farms, and draws

Did you know that coleus, sage, and rosemary are all in the mint family (Lamiaceae)? This plant family contains many culinary herbs. This plant family contains many culinary herbs. Mint family members are usually aromatic, have square stems, and opposite leaves. Most people know about Mentha (peppermint and spearmint) and Salvia (sage) species, but there are over 230 genera and more than 7,000 species in the mint family. Come explore this beautiful exhibit to learn about the interesting plants in this unique family. This exhibit was on display in the Conservatory's South Lobby.