I mentioned recently that Dave and I went to the botanical gardens last weekend for a shot of green!
As soon as we walked into the conservatory, we noticed the warm temperatures (between 65 to 80 degrees F (18 to 26 degrees C) and humidity (60% according to their website). It felt heavenly to us!
We both love palm trees so it was fun looking at all the cool varieties and giant palm leaves.
You always have to remember to look up in a place like the jungle because you will see the weirdest, most unexpected shapes and textures..
I am looking forward to spending an afternoon here with a sketchbook and pencil!
There is also a cool little river and waterfall running through the conservatory, with a variety of ferns and pitcher plants lining the waterfront and koi fish decorating the water.
There were free-flying birds (quail and canaries) living in the conservatory but they were hard to catch on camera.
The conservatory had a special exhibit about coffee, with lots of signs throughout the jungle showing where coffee originated, where it’s grown and how it became a common drink in the US.
I’ve always thought it would be cool to have a pergola covering our patio with viney plants providing additional shade. This is a perfect example!
This was just the pick-me-up we both needed! With all the warmer temperatures we’re having this week, garden season doesn’t seem so far away now.
Terri's Notebook 
I love botanical gardens and I always went to the one in Milwaukee growing up–thanks for the memory! So serene:)
Oh wow it looks stunning. Doesn’t that tree with the black balls on it look artificial though – nature is amazing! Ferns are my favourite – I love the way the uncurl from a tight little spiral!
Thanks for sharing such wonderful pictures :0)
Awesome! I feel warmer already! 🙂
I had a pergola built onto my back deck at my old home in California. I had wisteria and Carolina Jessamine growing on it. Bittersweet vine, also, but that was always getting hacked back because it was out of control! I LOVED being under my pergola… on my little cafe chairs with my coffee, listening to the birds and smelling the scents of the flowers. It was lovely. I miss it.
Think I might have to find a conservatory around here soon…. 🙂
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tortorich/sets/72157600009986748/
Hi Terri, what a wonderful place and amazing plants with strange details! You really should spend an afternoon there painting and drawing. Could your class make a trip there?
xxx Teje
I love going into the greenhouses just for this reason. You never know what you will see.
What a great post…so green. We definitely have had a mild winter temperature wise, but everything is gray and brown…those green photos are a real “pick me up” as you said!
Seeing your pictures makes me feel like I should go to the botanical garden more often! My hubby and I went to one a few years back with his parents and siblings around Christmastime. Everything is so lush and green-beautiful and peaceful 🙂 I like the oddities though. They had an ENTIRE room devoted to bonsais (some over 100 years old!) and there were several miniature pineapples-I loved it! My fave room though, was the one with hundreds of white orchid varieties, just beautiful.
I love your coffee pictures. I had the kids do a project on coffee and its production back when I was teaching social studies-they had some great pictures too!
These would make some for fab framed pics!
Seeing your pics remind me of all those summer trips to visit family in Puerto Rico! My father’s family used to grown and sell coffee (and other things) on their farm! I loved it when they used to lay out all the picked coffee on the cement ground to bake in the sun! One or two people always had to be their with their special brooms to rotate the coffee so it wouldn’t burn, and covering it all when it rained was like watching the way they covered the baseball fields! Fun memories!
and how I looong for warmer weather 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
hugs, margie
how fun! we have a botanical gardens here in AZ but I’
ve never been, it’s all desert plants, of course
I’m glad to hear you are getting the warm temps, too. I read somewhere that there are some active sun flares right now. I hope our fruit trees don’t bud and then lose the buds in a late frost!
How nice! We have been having some warmer weather these days. Spring can’t be too far off!
Your pictures are great!
Jennifer 🙂
Your photos are so beautiful and perfect for this time of year. The green is really a shot in the arm to get rid of those winter blues. Thanks for sharing.
thanks for sharing these pics, last night’s thunderstorm followed by a really crappy weather the next day left me in need of a green-fix 🙂
Hello Terri,
I love visiting Botanical gardens for some inspiration. Glad you enjoyed some warmth.
Have a happy creative day.
Bev.xoxo
what a lovely place to visit! how nice to step into somewhere so green!