a day at phipps. - count on it

More Phipps Pictures

my friend lucy checking out flora and fauna at phipps conservatory in pittsburgh. 

      These are more pictures from Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . I have so many i took that day so i thought i would send some more out in the blog since i have not been doing too well on the writing end of it. it has been hard to wrap my mind around writing here lately and its more of a visual and reading experience here for me lately. Please enjoy the pictures.

bottle palm

various palms, these are mature trees and this area does give you the jungle feel

orchid room 

    i rally couldnt dsay this was optimal conditions for growing orchids. a lot of falling water added a charm and moisture to the air , it was bright , in fact brighter than i thought for optimal orchid growing. a lot of the orchids are grown in another building as well as a variety of other plants where specific care and conditions are required for optimal growth, things like grow light , humid atmosphere etc. that would be needed to bring a large quantity of flowers into bloom at the greenhouse for viewing. They really have the whole growing thing down pat, and present a regal display of blooming plants around every corner of the greenhouse. 

orchid

 again more orchids. 

more of those?

     I know i should have probably taken notes of most of these plant names, it really was more about enjoying the eye candy available to us. some were some common house plants you would normally have vineing perhaps in your house mixed with some exotics. i did notice that a lot of the exotics were potted so when they looked ragged could be pulled and taken to their maintenance building to heal a while. i did notice some ants and different bugs in there indicating that the greenhouse had an environment that wasn't necessarily so sanitary it wasn't living on its own . In fact some rooms you would go in and feel the energy of the plants and the environment seem to uplift your senses.

another room you couldn't necessarily walk through but instead stand and enjoy as pics suggest. 

it is my understanding that the orchid after it blooms consumes the plant and all is left is a mature rhizome for next year. checked that out and the information I read is that they bloom in early spring and are light and temperature sensitive. there are over 2000 varieties and over 600 can be easily grown. 

here is a picture of their Japanese garden outside. 

    i will stop here on this blog and not try and overload you with pics. we let these ruminate in your mind as you consume their beauty. i will follow up with one more blog about Phipps in the next couple of days.

phipps consrevatory and botanical gardens.

Phipps Conservatory-Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

    My friend Lucy and I took off Wednesday and headed to Pittsburgh to find the Phipps conservatory. Someone had landed a fb page on my feed and after viewing it and re-posting it. Then my friend Lucy suggested that she would go along if I wanted to check it out. It is about 2 hours straight out St. Rt 22 past Tappan lake and Cadiz to Wintersville and points beyond. It was a nice day despite running into rain in the morning but instead we ended up chasing it into Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh was hectic and I let the GPS on my phone take me right to the place. The trouble is when you punch in the GPS address it takes you to the physical location and not the parking. Parking was limited to an obscure middle island and some places along the curb. It left us a little confused but we ended up parking in a free lot and didn’t have to pay for parking. Parking looks limited and I would try and go mid-week if possible for easier access to facility.

      The sunken entrance and green roofs lent an architectural flair to the building with a modern blend of clean lines funneling you down to the main doors. One nice thing is that everything looks handicapped accessible; a large spacious center entrance dome adds light and openness to grand entrance they have. After purchasing tickets a round staircase where  a glass sculpture hangs down is highlighted as your eyes are drawn to it as you ascend the stairs into the main greenhouse room, featuring large trees growing skyward as if to block the glass and absorb the light limiting any chance of it getting to plants below. Most of these plants used to low lights, ferns and such. the paths are designed so that if you keep making lefts you will be able to traverse the whole grid of greenhouses moving from room to room and complete a circuitous route and end up where you started. 

   Eye candy is everywhere and nameplates with the common name and the scientific name. At one time in a college biology class I was able to learn to pronounce the scientific name, and so I practiced with increasing frequency, as I went through and guessing at some plants with common names. They say there are over 3500 different varieties of orchids and they had quite many of them represented there. Each different greenhouse was setup in a different way but had a common theme of moving you through and allowing your eyes to dance from one thing to the next as I would say to Lucy here look at this, as we both would point out different things we would find along the way.

 

      Waterfalls and features abound throughout the array of greenhouses. Mists of water enriching the interior feel of the greenhouse structures and allowing such things as a tropical rain forest area to be part of the tour. As much as we were able to see I am sure we missed a lot of treasures, as illustrated by one of the kind volunteers who pointed out things we had missed, and without asking, say they love just coming in there and helping maintain just for the ambiance of the place. It is quite peaceful. At one point they have a koi pond and I allowed a golden koi who was following me around to kiss my finger as Lucy snapped a pic. It seemed as if the fish was following me around. I kinda felt a connection to him and wondered how he would taste deep-fried and served with chips wrapped in newspapers. Not really but sometimes I admit that I have a hard time seeing animals as just friends when I know they are important to us as part of our daily food. I doubt if I will quit eating fish as a result of my close encounter of the kind. 

 

      There is something interesting for everyone. It is amazing how they are able to offer a diverse arrangement of different plants under one roof. Enjoy the pictures. I will include a hyperlink that will allow you to find more information in case you desire to visit. 

 

i will add over the next day more pics of my visit to Phipps-

Link to access Phipps- paste in browser to learn more - https://phipps.conservatory.org/