As 2025 winds to a close, we are filled with gratitude for all that we have been able to achieve this past year. FONA welcomed visitors onto the National Arboretum grounds with bold new programs and events and shared the Arboretum’s story with expanded audiences. All the while, we worked hard to deepen relationships between the Arboretum and its treasured community. We are profoundly grateful for our supporters, community, and National Arboretum partners for making all of this work possible — thank you!

To celebrate the incredible year FONA has had, let’s take a look back at some of our proudest accomplishments from 2025:

Evening Hours All Summer Long

FONA kept the National Arboretum open an extra three hours every day, all summer long. We also offered new and exciting evening events and programs for FONA members and the general public such as yoga, sound bathing, Food Truck Fridays, and Dog Days of Summer “pup-ups”.

“Being able to access the National Arboretum in the evenings was one of the best parts of my whole summer! I’m in Ward 5 with a dearth of nearby green space, so having a beautiful, cool, spacious place to walk, meet friends and family, rest, soak up nature, and enjoy summer was such a treat.”

— 2025 Summer Evening Hours Attendee

14 Internships Funded

FONA sponsored three year-long National Arboretum interns who gained extensive professional training in horticulture, botany, and research.

Eleven Green Ambassadors developed and strengthened skills in agriculture, environmental sustainability, carpentry, and career readiness through FONA’s paid summer internship program.

Summer Institute Going Strong

Now in its 7th year, the Summer Institute for Garden-based Teaching worked with 34 teachers from 14 D.C. schools — one of the largest cohorts to date.

“I am a true beginner to gardening. This training inspired a deeper interest in gardening and participation in my school’s garden community. It gave me many lesson plan ideas and ways to differentiate learning to include gardening in my classroom. I loved the “discovering my why” exercises, they really grounded my work and sparked a true passion for spreading knowledge on health, sustainability, and caring for the environment with children.”

— 2025 Summer Institute Participant

If you haven’t already, please donate to FONA before the end of the year and help us finish this year strong! With nonprofit funding more unpredictable than ever, your gift of any size has a real impact on our work at the National Arboretum. By donating or making an additional year-end gift, you will also join or renew your FONA membership and receive special perks throughout the year. 

You can make your gift online or mail FONA a check. All envelopes must be postmarked by December 31st in order to apply to 2025 taxes. You can also make a gift of appreciated securities (stocks, bonds, mutual funds), donor-advised fund grants, and qualified charitable distributions. FONA’s offices are open. Please email donations@fona.org with any questions about ways to support FONA before the end of the year.

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The National Arboretum may be known for its spring blooms, but visiting in winter is a uniquely meditative experience. Many trees and bonsai shed their leaves so you can better admire their intricate structures and silhouettes. Visit the Arboretum for quiet contemplation, reflection, and planning the year ahead.

The Arboretum is open every day from 8 AM to 5 PM, except on December 25th. The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum is open every day from 10 AM to 4 PM, but is closed on all federal holidays from November through February. Last admittance to the Arboretum grounds is at 4:30 PM each day. Admission and parking at the Arboretum are free.

Learn More About Visiting the Arboretum >

While most witch-hazels bloom in the fall or late winter, ‘Beholden’ blooms in late November through January, filling the chilly world with tiny orange flowers. It is a cross between the open-pollinated hybrid Hamamelis ‘Amethyst’ and the early-blooming Hamamelis vernalis ‘Holden,’ so its parentage is mostly Hamamelis vernalis. Ozark witch-hazels are native to Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, but are quite hardy. They will sucker and spread into shrubby thickets when grown on their own roots, but most nurseries sell grafted Hamamelis vernalis because plants grown from cuttings often die over winter unless special precautions are taken. They tolerate clay soil, occasional wet conditions, shade, and deer (rabbits will browse, so be sure to protect young plants). 

Witch-hazels have small flowers that look best with a dark backdrop, especially the red- and orange-flowered forms, so plant it in front of a dark evergreen plant or a wall. The petals curl up to avoid freezing in colder temperatures, then uncurl when it warms up a little. The flowers’ nectar and fragrance attract all sorts of winter-active insects, mostly bees and flies.

Make sure to get a close look at Hamamelis ‘Beholden’ in the Hamamelis (Witch-hazel) Collection at the U.S. National Arboretum, across the street from the Metasequoia triangle and Dogwood Collection parking lot.

Kamala Codrington-White, an Agricultural Science Research Technician at the National Arboretum, shares plants of note at the Arboretum in this recurring segment. Find these plants on your next trip to the Arboretum. Photo by the National Arboretum.