and garden clubs ." 22 Such a continuity of effort is rare among 

 independent government agencies. 



During recent years, collection and display have come 

 to mean much more than just setting up something for 

 tourists to look at as they wander through the Garden's 

 Conservatory. A special emphasis has been placed on 

 developing educational programs that will allow the visi- 

 tors to the Garden to become active participants. 



Since 1976, the Garden has sponsored a series of free 

 horticulture classes from September through May. Topics 

 covered include orchids as houseplants, environmental 

 gardening, flower arranging, holiday plants, growing vegeta- 

 bles in containers, growing bromeliads, annuals for the home 

 garden, and other subjects in which the Garden has devel- 

 oped expertise. Those attending these courses receive a ser- 

 ies of plant culture sheets and special publications prepared 

 by the staff. The Garden also sponsors a nationwide plant 

 information service that handles hundreds of inquiries each 

 week on a wide variety of botanical and horticultural topics 23 



The Garden's library now contains more than 1,200 

 volumes, which are available to members of the staff and 

 to the public by appointment. The collections housed in the 

 Garden's Conservatory and displayed in its Park offer stu- 

 dents and botanists, as well as professional horticulturists, 

 an opportunity to view first hand a broad range of rare and 

 interesting specimens from all over the world. 



Since the relocation of the Garden to its present site in 

 1933, there has been a continual effort to acquire new spe- 

 cies for both its indoor and outdoor collections 24 Purchases of 



22 U.S. General Services Administration, National Archives and Records 

 Service, Office of the Federal Register, The United States Government 

 Organization Manual 1984/85, Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1984, 

 p. 39. 



23 Flak, Are Your Gardens Grumpy, pp. 1, 18; and Hughes, U.S. Botanic 

 Garden, pp. 141-142. 



24 The Annual Reports of the Architect of the Capitol for 1933-1947 in- 

 clude the names of the plants donated to the Garden by Government 

 institutions such as the Department of Agriculture as well as by private 

 collectors. Several of the reports contain extensive and diversified lists 

 of newly acquired plant material, including orchids, succulents, and hardy 

 plants. The reports also mention the plants actually purchased by the 

 Garden. 



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