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<img width="412" height="329" align="right" hspace="12" style="width:4.2916in; height:3.427in" data-outlook-trace="F:1|T:1" src="cid:image001.png@01D72173.6DF530E0"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Washington
– The U.S. Botanic Garden announces a calendar of spring programs to be offered online in April and May 2021. While the Garden is currently closed due to COVID-19, the Garden continues to offer educational programming online to connect people and plants.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Times; color:black"><br>
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</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: black;">Highlights from the upcoming programs include many sessions celebrating spring through horticulture and gardening: tips for preparing and growing a cutting garden
in urban spaces, how to successfully start seeds; vegetable gardening questions will be answered live in a Kitchen Garden program with a USBG gardener, and then learn about adaptive gardening strategies for all ages and abilities. The Garden will celebrate
Earth Day with a special program of tips and best practices for spring container gardening.</span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: black;">People and plant connections will be the focus of several programs, including celebrating the Garden’s 200</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Times; color:black"><sup><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">th</span></sup></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: black;">
anniversary through a two-part series. The first program will explore the Garden’s history through archive images and the second will feature a panel of the Garden’s leadership sharing plant collections, research, and education today and into the future. Other
people-plant programs will include the next program in the Garden’s live interactive cooking series with local chefs - this time featuring Jamaican cuisine from the chef at Island Bwoy Cuisine; then explore the cross-section of horticulture, history and immigrants
through an exploration of landscape and environmental changes and stewardship.</span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: black;">For those successful in their flower growing, the Garden’s series on floral design will offer a new program with an introduction to cut flowers to help with how to select
and care for blooms in arranging and another on creating low floral centerpieces.</span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: black;">Local favorites the Cook Sisters will continue to lead weekly demonstrations about seasonal cooking recipes and gardening tips from their kitchen garden, and then offer
a live program celebrating growing and cooking with lemon and tamarind. Fans of trivia can join in multiple free Botanical Brainiacs evening programs created in partnership with popular hosts District Trivia with special themes of “April Showers” and “Conservation.”
The Garden will continue to offer its popular weekly free yoga class online on Saturdays with yogis from WithLoveDC.</span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: black;">The majority of programs are offered free of charge, and those with registration fees have discounted prices for members of the Friends of the U.S. Botanic Garden. For
program information and registration, visit </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif;">www.USBG.gov/OnlinePrograms</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: black;">Photos for spring programs available at: </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5brr5ui6ry9hwdj/AAA94JAxVHXGNn6zkCTdRFz2a?dl=0</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: black;">
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: black;">Media contact: Devin Dotson, (202) 306-6743, </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ddotson@aoc.gov</span></p>
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<u><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: black;">About the U.S. Botanic Garden:</span></u></p>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: black;">The United States Botanic Garden (USBG) is the oldest continuously operating public Garden in the United States. The Garden informs visitors about the importance and fundamental
value and diversity of plants, as well as their aesthetic, cultural, economic, therapeutic, and ecological significance. With over a million visitors annually, the USBG strives to demonstrate and promote sustainable practices. The U.S. Botanic Garden is a
living plant museum accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and Botanic Gardens Conservation International. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif;">www.USBG.gov</span></p>
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