Set on twenty-five acres adjacent to Rock Creek Park, Hillwood’s gardens feature a diverse and fascinating array of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, offering something to see in every season. 

Plants to note in the greenhouse:

• Orchid month might be over but there are still a lot of orchids to see. Many of the cymbidiums are still in flower. Native to tropical and subtropical Asia and Australia, their long-lasting, waxy flowers are often used in arrangements a for corsages. One particularly nice specimen in the collection is Cymbidium Hazel Fay ‘Shocking’ with lovely orange petals and sepals that are striped with raspberry and outlined in yellow.
• There are also quite a few dendrobium orchids in bloom. One not to be missed is Dendrobium Merlin, a nobile-type hybrid just full of flowers hanging in the cymbidium h. The dark patch on the lip really grabs attention and contrasts well with the white and magenta petals and sepals. Dendrobiums are often good candidates to have growing directly on bark or wood. Many of our nobile-types are grown in hanging baskets as a nice way to appreciate their often pendulous habit.  
• There is a nice variety of slipper orchids blooming now too. A plant to note is a paphiopedilum hybrid of Winston Churchill (Paph. Winston Churchill indomitable x Paph. Jaeger 'Bold Spots'). It has a lovely large, beefy flower decorated with spots. Slipper orchids get their common name from the flower’s lip shape which resembles a slipper. Several of our paphiopedilum just won awards at the National Capital Orchid Society’s Paphiopedilum Forum. 

Highlights in the garden:

• The tulips are starting to open across campus. Over twenty thousand bulbs were planted as part of the spring display. The beds at the front of the greenhouse sport a fun mix named Carnaval. Oranges and yellows will soon be mixed with pinks bringing a riot of colors to the space. Be on the look out too for edibles mixed into the display plantings. Black-seeded Simpson lettuce forms a river of chartreuse in front of the tulips.
• The azaleas are starting to open. Marjorie Merriweather Post was often in residence in the spring so the gardens were designed to burst into life and azaleas play and integral part in the landscape. Soon, nearly every corner will light up with flowers in a wide array of colors. Post loved to share Hillwood's azaleas with friends and today we hope our guests follow her lead.
• With the extended snow cover on the ground, the hellebores are now a flurry of color with the warmer temperatures. This mounding perennial is attractive even out of bloom with large leathery evergreen leaves. A  mix (Helleborus x hybridus ‘Pine Knot Best Strain’) is found in the western Lunar Lawn bed. The flowers come in white, cream, pink, red and everything in-between. ‘Pine Knot Best Strain’ was developed in Clarksville, Virginia.