Belle Isle Conservatory

Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, Belle Isle, Detroit, MI

Not long ago, my husband and I went to Belle Isle to the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory. If you haven't been there, you really need to go. It is a beautiful place, on an island in the Detroit River. It was opened in 1904 and was renovated in 1950. At that time, the wood frame was changed to iron and aluminum. The conservatory is modelled after Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and covers more than 1 acre. Mrs. Anna Scripps Whitcomb left her 600 plant orchid collection to the conservatory. Now the conservatory bears her name. Here are a few pictures:

Poinsettias in the show house.

Spring flower cart.

Christmas flower cart.

Bromeliad flower leaning over calathea leaves.

The palm house.

Statue on fountain.

Philodendron stems.

Pandanus~screw pine.

The desert house.

Cyclamen in the show house in February.

Cyclamen and kalanchoe in show house.

Fern house.

Detroit may have a bad reputation, I even know people afraid to go there,  but going to Belle Isle is something everyone should experience. Belle Isle was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the same architect who designed Central Park in New York City. It's a piece of history that needs to be preserved and taken care of.  The conservatory is a great place to start.