The Secret Garden

Since it felt like fall this morning, we took our usual path in the concrete jungle past the Capitol building, American Indian Museum, Air and Spacs Museum, and the Hirshhorn Museum. When it's really hot we can't walk this way because there is little shade and intense heat, so we go the way of the air conditioned Union Station. It's been so unpleasant this summer I even have an ice collar and scarf to help mitigate the overwhelming soggy heat. Because we haven't been this way for quite some time, the gardens around the Smithsonian Castle have really changed. The colors are looking more like fall. There is a semi hidden area, away from the main walking path, that takes you behind the Sackler Gallery. It felt like we were transported to a magical place filled with tropical plants and flowers. We have been there before, but the overcast skies and the time of the day created an unending array of colors, shapes, smells, and sizes. The flowers were simply gorgeous and unfamiliar to us, making them all the more interesting. On the way back my husband commented about what a wonderful neighborhood we live in - such a variety of people, plants, and flowers. It is quite remarkable.