Washington, D.C.’s Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens aren’t really a secret (hence this entry isn’t a part of my D.C. Secrets series), but they are among the less visited of the great parks in our area. They are quietly astounding. I recently went there on a field trip with my 7 year old. It was one of D.C.’s early heat-wave days, and the bus was late and unairconditioned. Between the long wait at the school and the long, hot bus ride, I was doubting the worth of the whole field trip idea as we climbed off the bus, sweaty and slightly car sick.

And then I walked into the park with the 75 or so first graders. The lily pads lay thickly across the ponds, dotted with flowers on all sides. Dragoflies hummed in the air above the floating green circles, and the ponds were teeming with minnows and tadpoles. The kids walked slowly behind the knowledgeable and capable park ranger, crowding at the shores to see the insects and flowers and fish. We learned that the nuphar, a yellow flower protruding across the ponds from the protection of its pads, is one of the oldest plants, older than North America. What a gift, for young urban kids to walk in the presence of something so old, still growing among us.