conservatory — 2014 — The 21st Century Matriarch

Brookside Gardens cancelled their Garden of Lights display this year but the conservatory has the model trains on display…and is a great (warm) place to spend some time on a winter’s day. I always see something new and wonderful in the conservatory. Sometimes it is something that just happens - like the pink begonia flower that fell into a pool of water

Or noticing the cycads near the front entrance that have always been there but have recently been trimmed so that more of the plant structures show.

There is a cactus display near one corner - with threatening long thorns next to

More benign looking desert plants - sometimes with a surprising amount of color.

The water feature running through lush plants always is attractive.

But I made my way to the model trains rather quickly….following the mothers with very excited young children. Watching the trains was more fun with the chatter of children experiencing them for the first time.

It is so cold outdoors today….I decided to ‘think warm’ by picking my favorite images captured at the Brookside Gardens conservatories a few weeks ago. Conservatories are deliciously warm places to visit in the winter!

On this visit - I did some experimentation with by 8x magnification loupe. All the images in the post include a photo taken with the camera and then one or two images captured with the loupe to add to the magnification.

The fuzz on the petals and imperfections become more obvious.