Brookside Gardens in June 2015 - Part 1

Brookside Gardens is blooming all over! The renovation to the ponds that had so much of the garden fenced off is open and green. The drainage areas are much improved and many of the bridges were replaced too.

I found myself doing some photographic experiments as I wondered through the garden - a red fire hydrant with white hydrangeas (1) and one yellow leave among so many green ones (13). There were lots of opportunities for looking closely at flowers (2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 14), capturing the range of colors for cone flowers (3,6, 9), and remembering caster beans in gardens during my childhood prompted by seeing the plants at Brookside this year ( 8). I couldn’t resist a photograph of the cycad (12) in the conservatory either; I notice the plant every time I walk into the conservatory!

Brookside Gardens Conservatory - March 2015

It was cold yesterday but the sun was out and we decided to walk around Brookside Gardens anyway. I’ll post about the few outdoors items of interest we found later this week. Today - I’m focused on the lush vegetation of the Conservatories. We were surrounded by color in the green house and it was pleasantly warm.

Now that I have noticed the cycads at the entrance - I check on them at the beginning of my walking around. The cocoa tree has been moved where it is easier to see from the walkway too.

I was using my monopod for my camera and it helped me get the best picture I’ve ever taken of one of the red pompom flowers.

The star fruit on the tree near one corner was the largest I’ve even seen - and the yellow rimmed with green was appealing. It is an improbable looking fruit.

Enjoy the color from the Brookside conservatory to start the work week!

US Botanic Garden in December 2014 - Part II

We made our annual holiday trek down to the US Botanic Garden in Washington DC on the last Sunday of the year. I posted about the holiday display earlier here. This post is about the best of the rest.

It was too cold to enjoy sitting around outside the building but I did appreciate the artistry of the butterfly benches as we walked toward the building. As we were standing in line for the model lighthouse/train exhibit, I noticed the faces above the windows: serene and grotesque.

I also noticed the cornerstone for the building; the building was built in the year my parents were born!

Inside we enjoyed the steamy warmth of tropical rooms. The orchids are always beautiful…and fragrant.

I’ve started looking for cycads in every conservatory I visit and noticed three in the US Botanic Garden. They all looked very robust. Maybe sometimes we mistake them for palms…but not for long. A closer looks and it is obvious they are very different plants/trees.

We wander out of the steamy warmth to the dry room….and cactus. I love the patterns of these plants: the vertical  line of dots on the rib (1), the center ‘Spirograph’ pattern (2), the thorns spiking from the accordion pleats (3), the muted pink at the tips fading into the green at the base (4), and the grouping of small and slightly larger cushions in a snug crack (5).