Returning: A Trip to the Garfield Park Conservatory

In the spring of 2011, my husband and I paid a visit to the Garfield Park Conservatory.  Not too long after our visit, a freak hailstorm devastated the conservatory, particularly the Fern Room.  I was devastated myself, as I found the Fern Room to be one of the most magical places I had ever visited. If one needs convincing that ferns and their allies are incredibly beautiful plants, seeing so many varieties in one place should do it.  I love the color green, and I couldn't believe how much variety and impact ferns provide. I was afraid that even with restoration, the place would never be the same.

Well, on Friday we paid another visit, our first since 2011, and I found my fears to be misplaced.  The Conservatory is as gorgeous as ever. Because I've blogged about the conservatory before,  I'll just let the photographs do the talking.

View from the entrance to the conservatory

Below is a series of photos taken in the Fern Room:

Platycerium elephantotis Angola Staghorn Fern

Blechnum gibbum Miniature Tree Fern

The next series is from the Palm House:

I couldn't find a label for this lovely palm

A number of Bromeliads were used as groundcovers below the palms. Above is Neoregelia 'Fireball', below are an unidentified Guzmania cultivar and Neoregelia 'Gazpacho'

From the Desert House:

Eve's Needle, Austrocylindropuntia subulata 'Cristata'

Euphorbia lactea 'Cristata'

Euphorbia enopla

This crested Euphorbia looks almost like a sculpture

From the spring flower show:

I loved seeing all the Azaleas (Rhododendron species and cultivars)  It reminds me of springtime in New York.  They aren't common where I live, probably because the soil is too alkaline.

And finally, because it is good to be blogging again:

Life in front of the leaves: Karen 715

Garfield Park Conservatory Part 1: The Fabulous Fern Room

On Saturday May 11, my husband and I visited the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago for the first time in about 6 years. I had forgotten how large and how stunning the place truly is. It was constructed between 1906 and 1908, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Fern Room is especially beautiful, and, I think, worthy of a post all its own. Here are just a few of the pictures I took.

The entrance of the Fern Room, which also houses a variety of cycads, fern allies such as Selaginella, mosses, and a few tropical flowering plants, such as Monstera deliciosa, for variety. Edited to add: Since this post was published, I replaced this photo with a larger version, which looks particularly detailed when clicked.

Plaque visible upon exiting the room

A view of the room from another vantage point, showing the indoor lagoon that forms the center of the display.

Asplenium nidus, in a bed of Selaginella

A cycad, Dioon spinulosum

Another Dioon spinulosum, showing new growth spouting from the "trunk"

Ferns and Cycads around a bench, with duct work in the background. Part of the beauty of the conservatory in general is the age of the structure, and the fact that the workings, are for the most part out in the open and unobscured.

Closer view of the area above the bench

Platycerium (Staghorn ferns) with other Ferns and mosses in the foreground

Showing off the epiphytic nature of Platycerium on a Fern "tree." I've seen this done before with Bromeliads and Orchids, but never with Ferns.

Cycad, with cone. I believe this is another Dioon, but I forgot to note the label, so I'm not positive.

Young Pteris and Adiantum ferns, emerging from looks like moss, but which are actually gametophytes, the life stage that comes between spores and mature ferns.

Edited to Add: There is some actual moss in the picture, along with the gametophytes.

Your blogger, Karen715, standing near the entrance to the Fern Room

View of the Asplenium which was behind my head in the previous photo. I was amazed at the small size of the container in comparison to the plant.

Part 2 will cover the rest of our trip to the Conservatory.

But Wait, There's More!

More new plants, that is. Yesterday, I was out and about, running a few errands. I needed to drop my stepson off at a friend's house, go to the post office, and buy a case of dog food. Buying new houseplants? Nope, not on the list.

So first, I drop the kid off at his friends house, a couple of towns over. Next stop, the post office. But then I realize that there is a nursery on the way (if I tweak my route a little.) So I decide to stop by. Turns out, it is the last day of their 40% off houseplant sale. So I purchase this:

Aglaonema 'Golden Bay,' I believe. Love those white stems!

I then proceed to the post office, without further incident. This is followed by a quick trip home, to drop off the plant. Next planned stop: Costco, to purchase the dog food. But what is on the way to Costco? Lowe's. (This time it is truly on the way, being right next door.) My local Lowe's isn't much for houseplants, at least not in the winter--but I've gotten a few pleasant surprises from time to time. Yesterday was such a day. "Distressed" plants were from 50-75% off. I purchased the following:

Guzmania. No further ID. But I love that yellow.

This one was only slightly past its prime. (There were other Bromeliads that were really distressed and done--definitely not worth it even at a deep discount.) It also had a mysterious white substance on two of its leaves. At first I thought it was bird poop. (Sometimes, birds enter the store through the greenhouse section.) It turned out to be paint of some sort, and was removed easily enough with rubbing alcohol. But even though the plant was attractive and in decent shape, the real reason I bought it was this:

One of the three pups on the new Guzmania. So even when the main plant passes on, it'll leave me with three new ones. Let us hope I can raise them to blooming age.

Also on sale, and no more distressed than the three others in the store that weren't marked down, was this:

Nephrolepis cordifolia, aka Lemon Button Fern. Other than one dry frond at the base, there was nothing wrong with this. I don't generally have much success with ferns, but I'm willing to try.

So time to get the dog food. Since it will be a quick in-and-out trip, I leave the plants in my still-warm car. While I can't say that I've never been tempted by plants at Costco, it is relatively rare. (Well, there was that time that my husband and I managed to maneuver a six foot tall Strelitzia nicolai into our Prius, but that was special.) Yesterday, it became that much less rare, because along with the dog food, I purchased these:

Two Cymbidium orchids, bursting from their pots and as tall as my living room sofa, seen behind them. 19.99 apiece!

Close-ups of the flowers

Alas, with the purchase of the dog food, my errands came to a close, and there were no more places I could find an excuse to stop at on the way home.

My Terrariums

Since I mentioned that I placed my Resurrection Plant in a makeshift terrarium in my last post, like so:

Selaginella lepidophylla in a large plastic pretzel jar. Since I took this photo, I placed some small stones in the bottom, turning it into a sort of enclosed pebble tray.

I thought that I would share some pictures of my "permanent" terrariums in this one. I placed the word permanent in quotes because in reality, no terrarium planting is truly forever. Plants die, or grow out of their space. Here is an example of the latter:

My Asplenium nidus sticking up out of its jar. This is a closed, though not airtight, terrarium. The lid had been removed for the pictures.

Looking down into the center of the plant. This show also shows one of the NoId Selaginellas that also grow in this terrarium.

View of whole jar, showing the second Selaginella.

I'm actually reluctant to take the Asplenium out of the jar, because years ago, I had another Asplenium that grew splendidly in a small terrarium. Once it outgrew its space, I tried transplanting it to a larger container, and it never recovered. So far, this one hasn't been harmed by bumping up against the lid.

Last year my collector's impulse took over, and I started looking around for different jars, and sources of plants. That is why I now have five other terrariums, although the plants in two of them are struggling. Here is a picture of three of those that are doing well.

Three terrariums, with a mix of Selaginella, ferns and mosses. I used a glass plate as lid for the tall vase in the back.

I love the look of Terrariums, and they allow me to grow humidity-loving plants I wouldn't bother with in the open air. Mine aren't as manicured or artistic as some, but I'm still pretty pleased with them.