Sophia M. Sachs Butterly House

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After a day at the Missouri Botanical Garden – we headed to the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House near St. Louis MO the next morning. Its another facility that is part of the Missouri Botanical Garden. We were there a few minutes before it opened and walked around the outside gardens. It included a giant butterfly and caterpillar sculpture!

There was also a butterfly bench like the ones in Brookside Gardens in Maryland!

There were many fall plants blooming too – including cone flowers, butterfly weed, and goldenrod.

We entered the building as it opened. Everything had a butterfly theme – even a wall sculpture near the restrooms.

The conservatory is a year-round climate-controlled space for butterflies. We were familiar with many of the butterflies there because of our experiences at Brookside. Some of the butterflies were tagged – not sure why. We enjoyed watching the children with their families experience the butterflies – noticing butterflies in the air…looking to see them on the fruit or in the foliage.

The exit  from the conservatory leads to another garden with a water feature and sculpture of a child with butterflies on her hand and knee.

It was a good morning activity. We enjoyed photographing the gardens and butterflies (would be even more appealing in the winter when the conservatory would be pleasantly warm compared to outdoors) and we headed home afterward.

St. Louis Jewel Box

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The Jewel Box is a 1930s vintage greenhouse in St. Louis’ Forest Park. There was a major renovation in 2002 so the building is in excellent condition. The plants are primarily around the edges of the interior leaving space for weddings and other events. Our visit was on a Monday morning – the only other people we saw were people outside working on the water lily pond and the flowerbeds around it.

From the outside, the Jewel Box has the glass walls stairstep up to a flat roof. The framing of the glass panels has a blue patina. There are trees and grassy areas on the sides of the building…the water lily pond in the front.

Inside there were glass panels that divided the entrance area from the larger open area.

The fiddleheads of tree ferns always get my attention. The interior space was appealing – full of light…lush plants around the edges.

Getting to the Jewel Box required a short walk. There is no parking area close so we parked on Macklind Dr. and followed the sidewalk past a naturalized pond,

A nearby magnolia blooming profusely,

And plantings, including a columbine, in a shady mulched area.

Then we came to the lily pond in front of the Jewel Box. It was an opportunity to photograph them in the morning sun.

We took a different route back to the car after seeing the Jewel Box: past the Colonial Daughter Fountain

Then over to the Korean War Memorial that includes a sundial. We puzzled over the flag on the far left…realized later in the day that it was the St. Louis flag!

The short visit was well worth it – for the architecture, water lilies, learning about a part of Forest Park!

Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory Grounds and Aquarium

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Continuing from yesterday’s post about our visit to Belle Island, Detroit, Michigan….

The conservatory has a koi pond that had some large specimens that seemed particularly dense near the waterfall. I liked the turtle fountain…reminded me of similar ones at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. I wondered what happened to the koi pond during the winter. Detroit must get very cold.

The structure of the conservatory has some high portions and there are some plants that have grown very tall…filling the spaces.

The grounds are grassy areas with some flower beds that were beginning to fade. I took a few macro images

There was a black squirrel that zipped across the very wet grass (we dodged the soggiest areas). There were black squirrels in London, Ontario too – more than the gray/brown ones.

The grounds also included a Japanese lantern and tower.

We went into the Aquarium. It reminded me of the

Washington DC aquarium that was in the Department of Commerce building; it closed in 2013 but I remembered touring it when I was pregnant with my daughter back in 1989…and becoming very queasy from the fish smell.  The aquarium in Washington DC was completed in 1932. The one on Belle Island has been operational since 1904! They used the lull during the pandemic for renovation…it seemed to be in great shape (and no fishy smells). The lighting was such that it was easier to get reasonably good pictures through the glass! I particularly enjoyed the puffer fish, brittle stars, sea horses, and anemones.

Overall – our visit to Belle Island took about 2 hours. We headed back into Detroit to find a restaurant before we continued our journey to London, Ontario.

Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory

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The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory is on Belle Island (in the Detroit River). It is the oldest continually-running conservatory in the US….opening in 1904. The original wood framing was replaced with steel and aluminum in 1949. My daughter and I stopped to see it on our road trip from our homes in Missouri to London Ontario.

The place is filled with interesting plants. It was challenging to get wide views from the relatively narrow walkways other than looking upward.  

I quickly reverted to macro type photographs.

Some plants interested me so much that I took multiple images of the same plant.

Curly crotons were new to me.

The Venus flytrap and pitcher plants were inside a terrarium type structure that somehow made it even easier to photograph them.

The cactus room was one of my favorites…my theme was to photograph the various configurations of cactus spines.

The conservatory is not the largest I’ve toured…but it probably packs more plants into its space than any other! Tomorrow’s post will be about the grounds around the conservatory (including a koi pond) and the aquarium.

Longwood Gardens – October 2021

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We took a day trip to Longwood Gardens in mid-October. The website was encouraging ticket purchase before coming and cautioning that it is no longer possible to leave/return as we had usually done for lunch; the gardens also open an hour later than pre-pandemic. We arrived a few minutes before our ticket time and the garden opening at 10. There were others that had the same strategy…a line formed. I took a few macro pictures of the plants near our place in line while we waited. It was a little disconcerting that only about half the people put on masks inside the visitor center and there were several busloads of children that arrived - enlarging the crowd in the building. We exited to the gardens as quickly as we could and headed to the conservatory.

We chose to wear a mask in the conservatory too – as did about half the people in the building. There is construction closing the west end but still plenty of mums, tropical plants, children’s garden, and cactus to see in the part that is open. Even the hallway of bathrooms in the conservatory was very lush with green walls. Enjoy the slide show of zoomed pictures from the conservatory!

I’ll post about the water lilies and fiddleheads and macro photographs later. There were a few pictures I took as we walked about through the forest and meadow and then enjoying the display of fall squash and gourds…but I spent most of my time experimenting with macro photography with my phone.

We spent about 3.5 hours in the gardens…then were tired and hungry enough to call it a day. We stopped at a fast-food drive thru…then parked and ate…before continuing home.

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 9, 2021

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Coronavirus FAQ: How Do I Protect Myself From The U.K. Variant? - I added this one at the last minute…it’s scary…a good prompt to evaluate the precautions you are taking to not get COVID-19 with this more contagious variant circulating in the US. We are so close to having vaccinations broadly available!

When Only a Hippopotamus Will Do – Learn a bit about hippos. Did you know that there is a ‘wild’ population of hippos in Columbia’s Magdalena River, escaped from Pablo Escobar’s menagerie after his death?

Plastics pose threat to human health, report shows -- ScienceDaily – Awful….and there is relatively little being done to control this source of toxins in our environment.

Top 25 birds of the week: Terrestrial Birds! - Wild Bird Revolution – Most of the birds are relatively drab – lots of browns and off-white feathers….but interesting patterns. - the better to blend in with their environment. But there are a few surprises that are quite different from the rest.

From Ancient Rome to Contemporary Singapore: The Evolution of Conservatories – THE DIRT – I like conservatories….this article includes some history that I hadn’t thought about before…a bit more from the perspective of how conservatories fit into the cultures that created them.

Operation Ponderosa: Saving a Forest, Pandemic Edition – Several reasons this article caught my attention: it’s about 1) the Davis Mountains in Texas…a location I’ve driven through on road trips between Dallas and Tucson, 2) fieldwork and also done by a woman during this pandemic year, 3) the Ponderosa pine’s importance as ‘sky islands’ in this arid part of the country, 4) the impact of fire, and 5) how genetic testing informs forest restoration efforts.

Trees are out of equilibrium with climate -- ScienceDaily – I might have gotten a bit stuck on trees for this gleanings collection. This study found that factors other than climate often limit where trees grow...that few trees grow everywhere the climate would appear to support their growth.

Ancestral Puebloans Survived Droughts by Collecting Water from Icy Lava Tubes | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – New Mexico’s El Malpais….a place I’ve visited several times.

Migration and disease in the Iron Age - Current Archaeology – A skeleton of a man with tuberculosis that died between 400 BC and 230 BC in Britain but was born elsewhere based on analysis of his molars that developed in early childhood. Did he contract the disease early in his life or after he arrived in Britain?

Canyon De Chelly, Walnut Canyon Park Pages Added to Traveler – I’ve been to both these places so was glad they were added list of Essential Park Guides on this site. The guides are collections of articles about each park…and good references when planning a visit or to see some pictures of the park!

Bowerbirds: Meet the bird world’s kleptomaniac love architects – Elaborate structures of sticks and often colorful found objects…to attract a mate.

Brookside Gardens South Conservatory in February

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Update: This blog post is about a visit to Brookside Gardens early in March. Like all Montgomery County Parks facilities the conservatories are closed today as part of the strategy to slow the spread of COVID-19. Check the garden web site for more information.

Continuing about my walk around Brookside Gardens into the South Conservatory…

This is where the butterfly exhibit will be housed by the later part of April. For now, it is full of blooms. The snapdragons are dominant. The day I went was sunny and I enjoyed trying to get positioned so that the throats of the flowers were fired by the sun – making them look more like dragons.

The sun coming through the Amaryllis blooms make the edges pop.

But my favorite Amaryllis shot was one in the shade.

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All kinds of flowers take on a different look depending on whether the light is behind or above or in front of the flower.

I took a last look back at the conservatory and used the zoom to get two more flowers…

Then went outdoors to find out how far along the spring bulbs in the garden were.

Brookside Gardens North Conservatory in February

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Update: This blog post is about a visit to Brookside Gardens early in March. Like all Montgomery County Parks facilities the conservatories are closed today as part of the strategy to slow the spread of COVID-19. Check the garden web site for more information.

On cold days, the Brookside Gardens Conservatories are a warm place out of the wind. I went last week to take some pictures. The North conservatory is the one closest to the gift shop…and first one I walked around. I liked the plant flowering near the door and experimented with holding the camera upward to capture the inside of the of the flowers.

I always note the cycad and white bird-of-paradise (both are planted near the center of the building to that they have room to grow tall) …. And anything with color.

This time I didn’t spend time looking at the cactus corner, but I did notice the azaleas in bloom…a seasonal addition to the conservatory.

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I noticed some water droplets on a big leave close to the surface of the water feature in the southeast corner and then

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Realized there was a web and a spider just a little above the leaf! Maybe the spider is keeping nuisance insects controlled in the conservatory. Hope there are not spiders in the south conservatory where the butterflies exhibit will be by late April.

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Brookside Gardens Conservatory – October 2019

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After going to Brookside Gardens frequently during the Wings of Fancy exhibit (for volunteering and short strolls before or after), I only made it to the Gardens once during October! The mum exhibit was the highlight in the conservatory. The space that had been the butterfly exhibit had been transformed. Looking more closely at the ‘green’ parts….tiny buds everywhere so more mums will be appearing over the next month.

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I took a closer look at the mums that were already showing their color. The way the petals are overlaid and then spread out --- a lesson in packaging. The shadow and light…curves. A round of macro photography in a conservatory is such a pleasure. Wind is never a problem here.  I was surprised that there were pollinators in the conservatory too – not as many as outside but there were still some. I saw at least one bumble bee.

The conservatory closest to the gift shop still has the usual plants (I always note the cycads near the entry). There are a few mums in that room too.

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I learned that by the second week in November all the mum frames from the other conservatory will be moved to this one so that the Model Train Exhibit for December can be set up (the conservatory that houses the Wings of Fancy April-September has the model trains in December). I’m looking forward to that too!

Brookside – May 2019

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I’m just now getting around to posting some pictures I took at Brookside Gardens in May: the butterfly exhibit, the conservatory – and everything blooming outdoors. So many subject to photograph – flowers, immature seed pods, seeds, leaves, garden furniture and fountains….peonies, poppies, magnolias, alliums, maples, dogwood…what’s not to like. Enjoy the big slideshow!

The side of the conservatory not used for the butterfly exhibit always has interesting plants in bloom – or photo worthy in other ways (like giant water droplets on green leaves).

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The door that volunteers and staff use is surrounded by greenery. Somehow it seems bigger this year.

I arrive 15 minutes before my shift in the butterfly exhibit. Sometimes I have a few minutes between the orientation and the arrival of the first visitors arriving to photograph butterflies.

May is a big month in the gardens. I have a series of Brookside Gardens rose pictures that I’m saving for another post.

Plantains!

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During one of my volunteer shifts at Brookside Gardens Wings of Fancy Exhibit, I noticed that the big banana tree was gone (there were several little ones in the bed) and the green and yellow fruit was still on the pod laying in one of the beds. I had seen it blooming last summer (see the pictures here) and was thrilled to see that the fruit had ripened.

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A Brookside staff member explained that the fruit was so heavy that it was pulling the tree over, so the tree was cut down to make room for the younger trees. The big bunches of fruit were left in one of vacant areas of the bed. The fruit often ripens after it is cut from the tree and it happened in this case. The tree is a plantain – like bananas but without the sweetness. The fruit was a little different shape as well. The staff member used pruners to cut the plantains for people who wanted to them. I took a yellow one.

The recipes for plantain chips I found on the web seemed easy enough. They advised a green plaintain since the fruit would be firmer – easier to slice. On the downside, the green ones are harder to peel. I had a yellow one so making a few shallow cuts along the ridges of the fruit was enough to peel it (although still more difficult that a banana). I put parchment paper on a cookie sheet and sprayed it with cooking spray. I cut the plantain into slices with a knife and put the slices on the prepared parchment paper…sprayed them with cooking spray…and sprinkled on some garlic salt. I cooked them in a 350-degree oven until they began to turn brown. I hadn’t cut them evenly, so I took the thin ones out and then let the rest cook a little longer.

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Yum! I ate all the plantain chips in one sitting!

Yum! I ate all the plantain chips in one sitting!

Brookside Gardens Conservatory– February 2019

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The Brookside Gardens conservatory was much warmer than outside – one of the immediate pleasures of stepping inside on a winter’s day. And then all the beautiful flowers that are all around draw attention. I did some quick photography using the zoom rather than taking the time to get closer to the flowers. I find that it’s faster and I like the results of the blurry or dark backgrounds. My favorite picture of the morning was shades of purple against a black background…curves and creases.

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The flowers in the conservatory are always colorful and even more appreciated in winter when the outside is so brown and black. In the conservatory there are always pinks and oranges and yellows and reds…with green framing.

I couldn’t resist documenting the cycads near the door back toward the gift store as we were leaving. There wasn’t as much vegetation around the plants, so the structures were more visible than usual. When I see cycads, I always think of dinosaurs since this type of plant was around that long ago…and somehow survived whatever killed off the dinosaurs.

Longwood Gardens – Part I

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Last weekend we made the day trip up to Longwood Gardens. We got there shortly after they opened at 9 and headed for the Conservatory since they only allow tripods before noon and we’re always interested in photography in the gardens.

I had my new camera on a monopod and was experimenting to get the perfect height to use the viewfinder…and not hunch over the camera. There were plenty of flowers to practice with the monopod and the additional zoom capability of the new camera.

The Childrens’ Garden is another reason to get to the Conservatory early….to walk through the confined place before the children arrive. Years ago when my daughter was small there were fountains that she loved to hold her hands under but nothing as fancy as the mosaic bottomed fountain there today.

The area is quite a bit larger than it was 20 years go but full of nooks and cranes for children to enjoy: a metal spider web sculpture near the floor, shells on the low arches of an entrance (adults need to duck!) and several bird/animal sculptures that are water features – at a good height for little hands.

There was a collection of cycads in a tropical forest room with a walkway at canopy level. I was fascinate by one of the ripening cones.

My daughter was intrigued by the leaves of the Swiss Cheese plant.

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We were all remined of Hawaii by the Torch Ginger.

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The ‘new to me’ plant was a Cocoon Plan in the desert. Somehow, I had not noticed it before. It is a succulent.

Brookside Gardens – April 2018

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The day after we were at Arlington Cemetery, we walked around Brookside Gardens. It is one of my favorite places to take visitors to our area. We decided to walk around outdoors first.

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 There were several kinds of deciduous magnolias blooming. Last year many of them were caught in a late frost so I was glad to see them.

The crocus and snowdrops were done for the year but there were other bulbs providing color and there will be tulips soon; they are just beginning to send up their buds.

I saw a stump that I hadn’t noticed before beside one of the paths I use frequently. It’s rotting from the outside in!

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Now sprouting plants draw are colorful…draw attention with their textures as well.

When we went inside the conservatory, the warm moist air felt good after being out in the cold. There was a lot of work going on in the building. The room where the butterfly exhibit will be by the end of the month was completely closed and the other room was getting some new plantings. I noticed that the large white bird-of-paradise plant had a lot of dried flowers and a few that were still fresh. We warmed up – made a quick stop at the gift shop – and were on our way – pleased with our morning out and about.

Brookside Conservatories – March 2018

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After my walk around the outdoor parts of Brookside Gardens, the warmth of the conservatories was much appreciated. Both are currently open although one will close to prepare for the Wings of Fancy Butterfly exhibit in early April. There were not many people about so I had the luxury of moving myself to the best location to capture the photos I wanted. There was lots of color from flowers like poppies, begonias, and orchids as well as the foliage of variegated croton (and they were blooming too!). Of course the greens were well as well since outside we are still mostly brown. I like the shapes of papyrus, water droplets on big leaves, and the unfurling ferns. I like conservatories in general but appreciate them the most on visits in the depths of winter.

San Antonio Botanical Garden – Part 1

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We took advantage of having a morning in San Antonio, Texas before our late afternoon flight home to walk around the San Antonio Botanical Garden. The first thing we noticed is that the garden is still being actively developed with some areas barricaded either for updating or new building. We headed to the conservatories forest. These are very different structures than the glass houses of the 1800s/early 1900s. They rise from concrete peers – high shards into the sky surrounding a courtyard. The climate in San Antonio is mild enough that even the courtyard looked lush and green at the beginning of winter!

There were sculptures in the gardens within the conservatories and the courtyard. My favorite was the ‘owl.’

The conservatories were divided by climate types: desert,

Primitive plants like cycads (l loved the color of the fresh cones)

And Screw pines (I saw the mature fruit in Hawaii and got a better look at the Phipps Conservatory, but this is the first time I saw the fruit at this stage of development).

I can’t resist the unfurling of ferns

Or the tropical flowering plants and trees.

And that was just the first part of our walk around the San Antonio Botanical Garden. There’ll be another post about the place tomorrow.