Now through January 2, 2017, you can find one of the most colorful, and living, holiday displays featuring units of the National Park System/U.S. Botanic Garden

One of the holiday season's most colorful displays involving national parks can be found in Washington, D.C., inside the U.S. Botanic Garden, where 50 national parks and historic sites are featured amidst wreaths, garland, trees, and thousands of blooms from exotic orchids to a showcase of heirloom and newly developed poinsettia varieties.

The display, Season's Greenings: National Parks and Historic Places, opened on Thanksgiving Day and runs through January 2, 2017.

Throughout the Conservatory, the staff is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service and the 50th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act. In this year's model train show, the trains will chug around, below, through, and above re-creations of iconic national parks and sites in the National Register of Historic Places. Tour the gardens and you'll see the Grand Canyon, the Gateway Arch, Old Faithful Inn and Geyser, Mount Rushmore, a 7-foot-tall Statue of Liberty, and many more representing more than 50 national parks and historic sites, all made from plants and other natural materials.

This is a gardener's, model train hobbyist's, and national park lover's show. There are, of course, the incredible floral and plant displays that normally reside in the U.S. Botanic Garden, though they've been spruced up, so to speak, for the holidays. Then there are the model trains that are cruising through the displays. And finally, the incredible miniature reconstructons of iconic national park settings and structures, all made from natural materials.

For instance, the miniature Alamo, a National Historic Landmark in Texas, was constructed from grout and pine bark for the facade; sala leaf and bamboo for the curved roof; cinnamon stick, eucalyptus pod, and black walnut wood for the front door; reed, bamboo, and winged euonymous for the window trim; arborvitae, pine cone scale, and Australian pine fruit for the niches; mahogany pod, magnolia fruit stem, acorn cap, and dusty miller for the columns; and peach pit and dawn redwood cone for additional decoration.

Bright Angel Lodge from the Grand Canyon Historic District in Grand Canyon Village has a facade made from pine bark; a roof of cedar bark; a door of salt cedar, reed, and winged euonymous; windows made from winged euonymous; a foundation of cork bark; a chimney of pine bark and acorn caps; steps made from cedar; a railing from salt cedar; and a porch made from cedar and willow.

Bright Angel Lodge in miniature constructed from natural materials/USBG

The West Gallery will house one of the largest indoor trees in Washington, D.C., covered with ornaments celebrating national parks, and the Garden Court will welcome back model landmarks from our nation's capital including favorites like the U.S. Capitol, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and more - all also made from plant materials. More than 30 varieties of poinsettias will showcase old and new colors, forms, and sizes of this seasonal favorite.

The U.S. Botanic Garden is open to the public, free of charge, every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Most Tuesdays and Thursdays in December, the Conservatory will be open until 8 p.m. for live seasonal music and after-dark holiday exhibit viewing.

The Conservatory is located at 100 Maryland Ave. SW, on the southwest side of the U.S. Capitol. Visitors are encouraged to use public transportation. More information is available at www.USBG.gov/Exhibits

Cliff Palace from Mesa Verde National Park is one of the landmarks included in the display. The facade was made from cork bark slices, and, and grout; the ladders from willow, and; vegetation from lichen, reindeer moss and magnolia fruit /USBG