Bench

The other day after visiting the Missouri Botanical Garden (where I saw the orchid show, the rock garden, the Climatron, and the temperate house) I stopped at a nearby garden shop called The Bug Store. They sell garden ornaments and home furnishings only, so not the type of place I normally stop.

But I do like to check out the planters, benches and various garden sculptures they carry -- I sometimes get good ideas while browsing. This trip, I got something more.

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Late winter blooms

I've had two unexpected blooming events in the last week or so, one indoors, and one outdoors. Well, pretty much outdoors.

This Petasites japonica has been living in a pot outdoors, but I did bring it into the garage during the coldest days this past winter -- so mainly outdoors. It's cold-hardy enough to survive our winters (especially this mild one) but I wasn't going to take any chances with it, and it was simple enough to slide into the garage when needed.

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Temperate

After leaving the Climatron on my most recent visit to the Missouri Botanical Garden, I walked through what I think is a little "museum" building (it was under renovation so I'm not sure what it's supposed to be) and entered the "temperate house".

I remember last visiting this over a decade ago -- or was it an entirely different building? This seems much larger than the one I recall... In any case, on that last visit I saw lots of cactus and other warm-weather plants, but mainly desert-growers. There are still a few of those here today, but the planting is much more diverse.

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The Climatron

After leaving the cold rock garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden, I entered the tropical steaminess of the Climatron, a beautiful geodesic greenhouse, opened to the public in 1960. Upon reflection I should have gone into the temperate house first, to give me and my camera lenses time to warm up before entering the humid jungle of the dome.

So I had to wait for some time while my lenses defogged, but that just gave me more of a chance to enjoy the lushness surrounding me.

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Spiny, prickly, cold-hardy -- these grow here!

After I left the Orchid Show the other day, I set out to what was my original destination at the Missouri Botanical Garden: The Climatron. As I got close to that geodesic structure I was reminded that I hadn't seen the gardens around it: the Temperate House and the rock garden.

Since I hit the rock garden first, that's what you'll see today. I didn't know what to expect here since I don't think I've ever seen it before -- you may remember that when I visited last autumn I intentionally avoided these areas, saving them for another visit. What I found here was... cactus!

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St. Louis 2012 Orchid Show, part 2

Yesterday I posted the first set of photos I took at the 2012 Orchid Show at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. Today I'll show you the rest of them.

Although I took a fair number of photos, there were literally hundreds more orchids that I did not photograph. If the room were less crowded I might have taken more, but it was difficult to move around without getting in the way of somebody else who was trying to take a photo.

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Missouri Botanical Garden 2012 Orchid Show

Monday was a day off work for me (President's Day) so as I did on the last minor holiday from work, I chose to visit the Missouri Botanical Garden. My plan was to hang out in the Climatron primarily, but I had forgotten that the Orchid Show was going on right now. So I headed into that room first, not knowing exactly what to expect.

You see, I don't grow orchids and never have. I don't know much about them either, although I've heard that many of them are delightfully fragrant with a single bloom filling a room with scent. I can confirm this now: the first thing I noticed when walking into the display room was the sweetness in the air -- 800 orchids will perfume even a large room!

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Then this, beautiful, puzzling

I didn't intend to do three posts in a row about pots, but today I leave you with this:

I found this at a local Lowe's (where I got the bargain pots), and I spent several minutes looking it over in the cold and deserted garden department.

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This pot, sadly gone

Oh, I feel so stupid today. Sad too. You probably know that I have many pots in my yard, made from many different materials: glazed ceramic, plastic, resin, and simple terra cotta (clay). I really like the look of clay pots but they are the most fragile, especially during the winter as many are only slightly freeze resistant.

Like this beauty. It was one of my favorite big pots, and now... well, at least I have photos.

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