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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Monday, November 25, 2013

The Tropical Paradise Just up the Street

This time of year, it's just starting to get light  when I go to work and dark when I return so I only wander around my own garden on weekends.  Now that freezing weather has arrived and the abundance of the summer garden is a fond memory, it's sometimes nice to walk up the street to the Seymour Conservatory to see what's happening in that tropical paradise. See previous visits here and here.
 
This guy is always glad to see you no matter the weather! 

Inside, potted blooming Rhododendron Konori  were scattered throughout adding their sweet perfume to that of the lemon tree.  Smells like summer here!

These lemons are huge!  I wonder who gets to make lemonade with these beauties?


What a treat to walk beneath This Ponderosa Lemon Hybrid laden with cheerful yellow fruit!

Coleus still adding a pleasant jolt of color until it's replaced by hundreds of  poinsettias and amaryllis for December. 

I wonder if all the great ornamental peppers get to stay for another month?  They sure look festive to me!

My previous post was all about the display of exhibition chrysanthemums.  Here's a view  that includes some of them. 

And another.  When interspersed with the tropical/ sub tropical foliage, the mums look exotic, as if they belong in such a setting. 

Bowiea volubilis, also known as Climbing onion is an easy to grow succulent. 

Speaking of plants that enjoy an arid environment...

Bird of paradise jumping out of the corner to make us take notice.  (Am I the only one reminded of the bird in the Crazy for Cocoa Puffs commercial?)

Where are we again?  This fellow took a left at Chichen Itza and think that maybe he misread the map.  Of course, being a guy, he wouldn't stop for directions so look where he ended up!

Euphorbia anyone?  What a thrill to see this one that's way over my head!

It's not often that the plants tell you what to do.

I'm glad this orchid did though because the flowers smelled like bubble gum to me.

The Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) seems to like it here. 

Here is an image of the wife of the guy from the earlier picture.  She's sticking her tongue out at him saying, "I told you to so!"


The kid in the back seat saying, "I'm tired and thirsty!  Can we please stop for a drink?"

The Amorphophallus titanum  gets larger each time I visit.  I'm sure they'll make a big stink about it in the paper when it blooms.  (Get it, cause the huge bloom emits a strong fragrance  reminiscent of rotting flesh.)

My koi at home are moving rather slowly these days now that the weather is cold but these lucky beauties are active year round in their nicely heated environment.
This pond seems a little shallow but the fish don't seem to mind.  I always admire the beautiful long fins of butterfly koi.

What Seattle (home of the original Starbucks store) area conservatory would be complete without a coffee plant?

So, when do you pick them and how do you roast them?  Who thought of doing that to this berry in the first place?

More orchids.  The conservatory is run by Tacoma's Metro Parks which has huge greenhouses across town where plants get to grow throughout the year.  Only when they begin to bloom are they brought to the conservatory for the public to enjoy.  What fun it would be to make these living arrangements!
 
 
As Danger says, "There's always an Agave."  Although there is an interesting blurb about the native habitat of the plant, etc.  it's called a Century Plant which is a lovely common name but I sort of wondered if it was Agave americana or something else.
 
In case you want to take home a pup from the pound. 
 
What a treat to have summer just a few minutes from my house no matter how cold and wet it gets outside.

23 comments:

  1. I thought all kids ever said from the back seat was "Are we there yet?" Well, that's what Nigel says anyway. It was probably the Aztecs who first started roasting coffee. I think they invented hot chocolate too. Thanks for this wonderful look at the conservatory.

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    1. I was curious about the Aztecs giving us both chocolate and coffee, two very important food groups along with fat, sugar, and salt. It seemed too good to be true. Found out that it was the Ethopians who came up with coffee and the Aztecs who came up with drinking chocolate. I think of you whenever I visit the conservatory because it was about a year ago that I botched our first meeting plans there.

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  2. Having a glasshouse nearby for ones perusal is so handy, especially at this time of the year which one can visit for a green fix!

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  3. Love the alligator in the first picture. Imagine his eyes being green solar cells, glowing in the dark!
    "My koi at home"? can you direct me to previous post about your koi? What happens when it drops below freezing? I never saw a butterfly koi before. WOW!

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    1. Those would be scary eyes indeed!

      I know that there's a post somewhere that shows a picture of my pond with the koi in it but just did a quick search for koi on my blog and came up with lots of posts about other people's koi. In any case I'll post something on Friday that shows a glimpse of them. When the water temperature falls below 50 degrees, we stop feeding the koi, they slow down quite a bit when it's cold out. When the temps drop below freezing, there is sometimes a little ice on the pond but the water is kept moving by a pump and never freezes solid.

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  4. You're lucky to have this so close. Why oh why do we not have a conservatory in Portland? It is a crying shame!

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    1. I am lucky! You should spearhead a campaign to build a conservatory in Portland!

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  5. Thanks for the reminder about the Seymour. It's been a couple of years since I last visited, but even before moving to Vashon from NE Seattle I enjoyed visiting and learning about plants that hailed from warmer regions; and often wondered where this relatively small conservatory stashed and cultivated the bulk of its material. Now I know! Seattle's own Volunteer Park Conservatory, also run by the city parks department, has suffered financial woes, but appears to have weathered the storm.

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    1. I'd heard that the Volunteer Park Conservatory was having problems a while ago and it's reassuring that it's made it through. You're lucky to live on Vashon! I love it there. The vibe, the people, the small town feel - way cool.

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  6. beautiful fruits and plants! Great pictures!

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  7. How wonderful to have a conservatory within walking distance! I'd be tempted to visit every day.

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    1. I often forget this gem that is so close. Must visit more often!

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  8. I've never heard about this place. Thank you, Peter! It looks like a great place to visit. A Climbing onion winked at me!

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    1. It's a small but lovely victorian glass house in Wright Park. Point Defiance park/ zoo is also a great place to visit. I know I'm not the only one who goes to the zoo to visit the plants.

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  9. Just a short stroll away, you say? Oh good, I don't have to worry about you suffering horticultural withdrawal symptoms for the next few months.

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    1. Oh no chance of that! I'll be busy watering all the tender plants that are living inside my house this winter and promising not to buy one more marginally hardy plant ever! It's supposed to get really cold here next week (low 20's for lows, below freezing highs) I'm not at all pleased with this idea.

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  10. You live by Wright Park and the conservatory? How wonderful! We are going to bring our neighborhood NPA garden group there in February for a winter outing.

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    1. What a fun outing! Should I meet you there with cookies and warm cider?

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  11. This Conservatory is enough large, Peter, isn't it? I love to come there too, watching plants growing.Your photos reminded me to see our Conservatory. Lovely koi you have! And they are lucky to live in warm water year round. I love your photo of orchids!
    Happy Thanksgiving!

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    1. It's a nice size, can hold about 50 people, a very sweet space. Thank you for the Thanksgiving wishes. Is Обжинки celebrated in August or September? Do you have other autumn or harvest festivals or observances?

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  12. Hello, I saw your post about Bowiea volubilis, I think you could be one of the few one who could help me.
    I've had 3 Bowiea volubilis since 2001, today when going to water them I found 2 are getting rotten, I don't know why or what to do. Last week I water them and everything was fine. Today they look and feel as if they were "melting". Is it possible to save them? maybe cutting the bulb and taking sections... how to do that?
    I'm afraid of touching them in case they are stil alive, Would you give me some advice?

    Thanks,

    Paula

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.