Tag Archives: botanical garden

the soul of the building.

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built by albert kahn and george mason in 1904, one of my favorite places to visit is this lovely glass structure, filled with botanical wonders. during world war II, the anna scripps whitcomb conservatory was responsible for saving endangered cypripedium (greek ‘the shoe of Venus”) orchids, housing them during the bombing of london.

the conservatory has recently been undergoing renovations for last 5 months, and is slated to reopen later in may on it’s 120th birthday. the conservatory/aquarium site had been an old baseball field and remains the oldest conservatory in the united states.

*The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory is a greenhouse and a botanical garden located on Belle Isle, a 982-acre island park located on the Detroit River within Detroit, Michigan. While located near the Canada–United States border, the island is entirely within the U.S. (wiki)

 

“an old building is like a show. you smell the soul of the building. and the building tells you how to redo it.”

-sir cameron mackintosh

 

 

photo credit: belle isle photography, mark gade

botanical.

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this one is sure to make a comeback.

yes, most of the leaves have dropped off, but I see a hint of color.

ignore the brown, there is still a flower.

these are a few of the thoughts that cross my mind

as I try to nurture and revive

some of my indoor plants

that have chosen to be

“on a break from thriving right now”

for some reason I will not give up

as long as there is one stick left in a pot

my optimism refuses surrender

and still i wait for my green thumb to appear.

the fact is

that I love to garden

I love flowers, I love plants, I love trees

I am a nurturer by nature

but it is all a trial and error process for me

my middle daughter once stood in the middle of my yard and said,

“if you had everything you ever planted,

we would be standing in a botanical garden right now.”

I really loved that.

what an excellent point.

“gardening is not a rational act.”    

-margaret atwood