To take a break from the dinging slot machines, bright lights and bustling environment inside the MGM National Harbor Hotel & Casino, D.C. residents Tiung Do and John Nguyen sat down in the building’s conservatory. Unbeknownst to them, they were surrounded by 2,000 living plants.
“At first I thought this was all artificial,” Do told The Informer. “This is just a wonderful place to hang out.”
The conservatory’s current display contains three different pods dedicated to D.C., Maryland and Virginia, featuring replicas of some of the area’s most cherished landmarks surrounded by almost entirely locally-sourced foliage. A 40-foot-tall model of the Washington Monument, a 20-foot replica of the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse and MGM’s 30-foot-tall version of the Cape Henry Lighthouse serve as a tribute to the Washington Metropolitan area and a celebration of its native flora and fauna.
In just 15,000 square feet, and after six months of planning, the building’s horticulture and engineering teams have depicted the essence of each featured region, offering visitors a chance to take a breath and soak in Mother Nature’s beauty.
“It is a love letter to the DMV. We’re really proud to be a part of this community… it’s such a beautiful piece of the country,” MGM National Harbor Director of Communications Bernadette Guastini told The Informer. “We have guests that come from all over the world, but especially from Maryland, Virginia [and] D.C., so we just wanted this to be an homage to the community where we’re located.”
Rooted in Beauty, Grown With Purpose
One of the District’s most recognizable sites, the city’s tallest structure— aside from radio towers— and once the world’s tallest building after its completion in 1884, the Washington Monument was replicated at MGM alongside a faux cherry blossom tree, two symbols that remain synonymous with D.C. and its history.
Both lighthouse models are nods to the area’s rich maritime history, with the Chesapeake Bay once being the most fruitful estuary in the country. The model of the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, the last screwpile lighthouse in Maryland, is accompanied by 10 Black-eyed Susans and a sculpture of a Maryland blue crab, the state’s official flower and crustacean, respectively.
Meanwhile, a replica of the Virginia Cape Henry Lighthouse, the first successful federal construction project in the U.S., features a light keeper’s cottage with a working chimney and a sculpture of the state’s signature bright red cardinal, flying over the beacon.
“[The display] really just makes you stop and think about everything we’re surrounded by, how beautiful it is and how important it is to really be a good steward of the environment,” Guastini said.
Beyond paying homage to the DMV, MGM National Harbor’s horticulture and engineering teams use the conservatory to champion environmental consciousness and sustainable practices, living up to its Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Through the use of a 700,000-gallon cistern, rainwater is collected and reused to irrigate 100% of the planting necessary for the display.
Another way the team behind the exhibit encourages sustainability is by hosting plant sales to MGM employees when a display is ready to be taken down. Being one of three annual floral showcases erected in the building, thousands of plants are constantly in need of reuse or relocation.
“The funds from the plant sale are then donated to the MGM Resorts Foundation, a workplace-giving program that supports the local communities where MGM employees and guests live and work,” the MGM National Harbor communications team wrote to The Informer.
Aside from recycling water, repurposing plants and serving as a beautiful celebration of the ecosystem that makes up the Washington Metropolitan Area, this particular display at the conservatory can also bring awareness to different environmental issues in the area, a factor Nguyen appreciates.
“I feel good when they have decorations like that [especially] when I see kids around here,” he told The Informer. “This gets the environment in their mind if they don’t go outside much, so it’s great to have something green inside a building like this.”
The floral exhibit can lead one to learn about the mission to increase the District’s tree canopy cover from 35 to 40% by 2032, pique a guest’s interest regarding the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, where the dock has repeatedly been submerged since 2023 due to heavy storms and increasing water levels.
Regardless of the many possible outcomes for personal impact on MGM’s visitors, the conservatory urges those who experience it to take a moment from the building’s buzzing atmosphere to stop and smell the flowers–whether visiting to gamble, eat, drink or attend a theatre performance.
Stephanie Johnson and Tiffany Trammell did just that after enjoying Sunday brunch at MGM’s Osteria Costa. Johnson said the display was an instant reminder of the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens atrium in Las Vegas.
For Trammell, the exhibit is a means to heighten environmental awareness and encourage r people to be mindful of future generations when experiencing the area’s flora and fauna.
“We can’t sustain without the environment. It’s our future,” Tramell told The Informer. “If we don’t take care of the environment now, we won’t have it for our kids and grandkids.”