We visited the US Botanic Garden’s annual “Season’s Greenings” display titled “Roadside Attractions” featuring plant-based recreations of iconic sights from across the United States, with G gauge model trains chugging around, below, through and above the displays.

This is the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota, built in 1892. The original Corn Palace dates back to an era when “crop palaces” were gaining ground among agricultural communities in the Great Plains as a way to showcase their agricultural products. It has been rebuilt several times over the decades, and in addition to being the main tourist attraction in Mitchell, the Corn Palace is also a functional basketball arena.

Building materials in this model include gourds, pistachio shells, burr oak acorn cap, sandalwood seeds, salal leaves, stewartia pods and Australian pine cones in the dome alone.

‘Road Trip USA,’ posted earlier: