plants on an informal basis with other botanic gardens, 

 arboreta, and government agencies such as the Smithsonian 

 Institution. 26 



Four annual plant and flower shows are sponsored by 

 the Garden— an activity dating from George W. Hess' tenure 

 as Director. The first event of the year is the Spring Flower 

 Show, which is held from Palm Sunday through Easter 

 Sunday. The Summer Terrace Display is held on the patio 

 in front of the Conservatory from mid-May through October. 

 Hundreds of flowering and foliage plants in hanging baskets 

 and containers highlight this event, which is the Garden's 

 longest running and most widely acclaimed show. It is also 

 the latest program addition, having begun in 1973. 27 



Late in October, the Garden's third event, the Chrysan- 

 themum Show, opens featuring more than 2,500 plants of 

 over 150 varieties. From mid-December through New Year's 

 Day, the public is invited to the Garden's Annual Poinsettia 

 Show. 28 The Garden's staff begins preparations for this spec- 

 tacular display in May when nursery staff start cuttings from 

 older plants. In addition, the Garden also hosts annual plant 

 and flower shows sponsored by area garden clubs and plant 

 societies. 



Although the Garden has not dispersed plant material 

 through congressional allotments to the home districts of 

 Members of Congress for more than fifty years, 29 it does raise, 

 at its Poplar Point Production Facility and Nursery, indoor 

 plants that are lent to congressional offices on a limited and 

 restricted basis. 



To carry out its various activities, the Garden currently 

 employs fifty-seven people, including an Executive Direc- 



26 Specific legislation covering the exchange of plants is found in 

 49 Stat. 471. 



27 An extensive file on the Botanic Garden's various flower shows is 

 found in Botanic Garden Files, AOC. 



28 The poinsettia was named after Joel Poinsett, who served in Con- 

 gress as a Representative from South Carolina from 1821 to 1825. Then 

 between 1825 and 1829, he was President John Quincy Adams' Minister 

 to Mexico, where the flaming red flower grew wild. When he returned 

 to Washington he brought cuttings of the plant home with him. Byrd, 

 Botanic Garden, p. S804. Poinsett was a member of the Columbian 

 Institute. 



29 Congress ended this practice in 1934. 48 Stat. 828. 



61 



