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.