Let The Sun Shine Through

As most people know, when they are taking pictures, the sun is a big factor. If its too bright, you won't see what you are taking pictures of. If it is too dark, that isn't great either. Well, I like when the sun is shining through the plants when I'm in a conservatory. The last time I was in the Garfield Park Conservatory a couple of years ago, the sun was amazing through the plants. I thought maybe you'd enjoy it, too.

Pandanus or screw pine

Banana flower

Brugmansia flower

Christmas cactus

Philodendron

The next time you are thinking the sun is too bright to take good pictures, think again. It can be a good picture day.

Tree Fern

Staghorn Fern

Helliconia

Staghorn fern

Find Some Spring

We are all tired of winter here in the Midwest. That is putting it mildly....
Well, I have a cure for the winter time blues. Head for your nearest botanical garden conservatory! 

Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, Belle Isle, Detroit, MI

Show room in Belle Isle Conservatory, Detroit, MI

The fern room at Belle Isle Conservatory, Detroit, MI

My nearest conservatory is on Belle Isle in Detroit. I go as often as I can. I absolutely love it and am so happy it has survived the hard economic times that have plagued Detroit.

  There is nothing to make you feel better about winter. You open the doors and the smell of damp earth and flowers wafts out to greet you. If you can't spend time outside, what could be better at this time of year?

Hidden Lakes Gardens, Tipton, MI

This picture of Hidden Lakes Garden Conservatory was during their spring show. It was so beautiful! Tulips, forced forsythia, amaryllis, hyacinths, and of course, as you can see, colored umbrellas. It was a breath of fresh air!

Kingwood Center, Mansfield, OH

Kingwood Center, Mansfield, OH

Kingwood Center in Ohio is an amazing garden. I always go in September when the Ohio African Violet Society is having its show and sale. The garden always has a plant sale in the conservatory also. It is a plant filled shopping day!

New York Botanical Garden, New York, NY

A couple of years ago, I was lucky enough to be able to visit the New York Botanical Garden. I was able to see their display of vertical gardens designed by the French botanist Patrick Blanc. It was phenomenal!

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Lincoln Park Conservatory, Chicago,IL

Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago, IL

Lincoln Park Conservatory and Garfield Park in Chicago are both beautiful conservatories. Garfield Park was designed by Jens Jensen and as you can see, it is like being out in nature with streams and ponds and the most beautiful plants.

Longwood Gardens, Kennet Square, PA

The piece de resistance of these conservatories is, in my opinion, Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. I spent the whole day there and would have slept there if they would have let me. Absolutely unbelievable!

Longwood Gardens, Kennet Square, PA

Frederick Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids, MI

Frederick Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, MI is a relatively new garden, but you wouldn't know it. It has evolved into a beautiful conservatory. The picture was taken when Chihuly pieces were displayed in the garden.

Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh, PA

Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh is huge! I didn't have much time there, but I will return sometime and really take my time. Even my husband said he could have spent more time there, and that is saying a lot! 
So as this never-ending winter continues, take some time and visit the nearest conservatory. You will be so glad you did!

Chihuly Under Glass

Phipps Conservatory

I love conservatories. Of course I do, they're full of tropical/house plants.  But, throw in some Dale Chihuly art, and the experience is even better. It adds a dimension to the plants that nothing else can. Absolutely beautiful. Following are some photos from conservatories around MI, OH, PA, and IL  I have visited, that have Chihuly.
     "Sites that include Chicago’s Garfield Park Conservatory (2001), the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (2005), the New York Botanical Garden (2006), and Pittsburgh’s Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens (2007) enable the artist[Chihuly] to juxtapose monumental, organically shaped sculptural forms with beautiful landscaping, establishing a direct and immediate interaction between nature, art, and environmental light." ~Davira S. Taragin, Independent curator Formerly Director of Exhibitions, Racine Art Museum;
Curator, The Detroit Institute of Arts, Toledo Museum of Art.

These first pictures are from Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, PA. I have to say, it is one of the nicest conservatories I've ever been to. Even my husband, who is surrounded by plants at home, and would rather not spend his free time in a conservatory, said he could have stayed another hour. That's big praise for Phipps. I definitely would put it on your list of places to go if you love tropical plants.

I love the way this Chihuly mirrors the barrel cactus below.

Phipps Conservatory

Phipps Conservatory

Phipps.

Missouri Botanical Garden

Chandelier in entrance lobby at Missouri Botanical Garden.

Chihuly art in the pond in the Climatron.

 A few years ago, I was lucky enough to visit the Missouri Botanical Garden. Wow! What a fabulous garden, inside and out. It is gas been open for 159 years. There is a plant, a Dioon from Mexico,  from the 1904 World's Fair, still growing in the conservatory. 

Chihuly art peeking through the plants at Franklin Park.

Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, OH

     In Columbus OH, is a beautiful 1895 Victorian glasshouse. The Franklin Park conservatory is fabulous, filled with Chihuly. The Chihuly exhibition opened in 2003, and when it closed in 2004, the Friends of the Conservatory purchased most of it. Consequently,  Franklin Park owns the most Chihuly of any botanical garden. The tall multicolor tower of glass peeks through the plants and draws you onward in the conservatory. The balls floating in the pond can be seen from different vantage points and are magical on the water. 

How beautiful with the koi.

Beautiful floating balls.

Two summers ago, Chihuly came to Grand Rapids, to the Frederick Meijer Gardens. The artwork was scattered throughout the garden, inside and out. All of it was unforgettable. The pieces hanging in the desert house, done in neon,  were, I think, meant to represent tumbleweeds.

Hanging in the desert house.

Chihuly at Frederick Meijer Gardens.

Beautiful arrangement in the conservatory.

Now, moving into the tropical conservatory, we find arrangements in vases, as well as artwork in the plants. There was also a beautiful piece of hanging artwork that looked like different size Christmas balls glued together. While these pieces are no longer there, a chandelier and the cafeteria lighting are permanent.

Bowls in conservatory.

Hanging artwork peeking through the foliage.

Ceiling art.

 My favorite was the bowls in the water with the Alocasia macrorrhiza. The color of the bowls exactly matched the color of the roots. Did Chihuly plan it that way? I think he knew exactly what he was doing. He is an extraordinary artist who does wonders with glass and nothing is done by chance. Love it!

Notice the color of the roots of the Alocasia.

Better picture of the bowls.

Gorgeous!

Cafeteria lights. Really? Wow!

More cafeteria lights.

Last, but not  least, is Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago. They don't have a lot of Chihuly , but it is the most gorgeous conservatory, unlike any other. If you've never been there, you should make it a priority to go. Designed by Jens Jensen, walking through it is like being out in the woods. Ferns, waterfalls, and ponds; it is stunning. It's peaceful and tranquil......I'm wandering. I'll show pictures of that on a later post. Here are the Chihuly pieces in the pond there.

Again, I love conservatories, but a conservatory with Chihuly artwork added, is absolutely the best. Find a conservatory near you, with Chihuly or not, and visit. Be sure to take your camera!