The 446-acre National Arboretum, situated in Northeast Washington along the Anacostia River, has a huge collection of azaleas that draws crowds until July. We have gone in years past and thought this time we’d go when the azaleas were supposed to be at their peak, but I think a lot of them bloomed early due to our unseasonably warm weather in February. Still, it was a beautiful display and a pleasant time spent walking around the enormous grounds (twice now), especially after the sun came out. We also got to see one of several resident bald eagles and its nest, so an added bonus (except a third of the park was closed to the public because of them).

A surprising feature of the National Arboretum is the sandstone Corinthian columns, 22 of the 24 that were part of the east central portico of the US Capitol. They were completed in 1826 and stood until 1958, when they were dismantled to make way for the east front extension of the Capitol, which is adorned with marble reproductions. They were restored with support from the Friends of the National Arboretum and installed in their new site in 1990. There is a large fountain in front of it but no water in it that day, plus there is construction going on in front of the columns, we think to fix the water supply to the fountain. No azaleas in this picture, but I’m including it because it’s the view one sees from all the azalea gardens situated along the main road.

Pretty in purple, posted earlier: