For the past three springtimes the embassies of the twenty-seven states in the European Union have hosted a public open house in Washington, DC. Diplomats and staff share their culture via food, films, fine and performing arts, architecture, conversation, and gardens.
Since press conferences, receptions, and ceremonies often take place in embassy gardens, each embassy has its unique way of landscaping with plants compatible with the temperate climate of Washington, DC and appropriate to the native country. Plant enthusiasts tour with pencil, note pad and camera.
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Luxembourg welcomes visitors with a rose garden of deep crimson flowers mirroring the same bold hue of the country’s flag. The formal entrance arch to the embassy is flanked by pedestal urns of manicured dwarf Alberta spruce skirted in blue pansies.
The Romanian embassy entrance is bordered with formal boxwood hedges. Hydrangeas and chrysanthemums provide seasonal color against the boxwood. Yellow roses, a symbol of friendship, dominate the oval entranceway rose garden.
Instead of finding Mediterranean olive, carob, and citrus groves native to Cyprus, the row house embassy is nestled in dogwood, magnolia and maple. Floral patterns are present in the embassy’s interior woodwork, sconces, railings and carpets.
Visitors sample Cyprian garden exports: wild mint flavored halloumi, a goat and sheep milk cheese and wildflower honey caramels.
The contemporary design of the new Asiago marble Italian embassy is a departure from neighboring neoclassical architecture. The angular building grows out of an undisturbed hardwood forest formerly owned by the Mellon Foundation. The design brings the outdoors inside. A large glass-domed atrium makes the sky the ceiling in the large circular reception area. All exterior windows are framed in dark green marble to capture the natural view like a painting.
The embassy vibrates with aesthetic sensitivity to natural and man-made wonders. Contemporary art glass is on display in windows against the surrounding forest.
The six-acre garden at the United Kingdom embassy is undergoing a modern transformation to a four-season garden. In early spring the garden will be covered in thousands of bulbs like crocus and scilla. Perennials will dominate in summer and early fall. An English cutting garden features hollies, yellow-twig dogwood, David Austin roses, zinnias, dahlias, and sweet peas. In winter the witch hazel, camellias, and stachyurus are in bloom.
For a few hours on a day in May each year visitors to the European Union Embassy Open House in Washington, DC enjoy a brief flirtation with the culture of our European allies while conversing with diplomats and their staff and touring international gardens. The 2010 European Union Open House is scheduled for Saturday, May 8th.
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