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Indoor gardens


Courtesy Franklin Park Conservatory

Franklin Park Conservatory
[ Columbus, Ohio ]
Built in 1895, the Franklin Park Conservatory houses 400 species of plants in its four themed biomes: Desert, Pacific Island Water Garden, Himalayan Biome and Tropical Rainforest, “all of which offer a nice winter escape,” said marketing associate Alana Manwaring.

“They’re really immersive,” she added. “They’re depicting what nature would look like in that area of the world.”

Visitors particularly enjoy the Victorian Palm House, which is the oldest part of the conservatory and which was inspired by the floral exhibit at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. The Palm House features more than 40 species of palm trees, including some that are threatened or endangered in the wild, as well as a fiddle-leaf fig tree that is one of the original trees planted in the Palm House and more than 100 years old.

Through April 7, the conservatory’s annual “Orchids!” exhibit features hundreds of varieties of the flower, including orchid chandeliers and arches, on display in the Dorothy M. Davis Showhouse.

Another special exhibit on display through April 28 is “Sacrifice + Bliss.”  Using plastic debris, junk mail and packaging, multimedia artist Aurora Robson created suspended sculptures and installations that are hung throughout the conservatory’s plant collections.

www.fpconservatory.org

Missouri Botanical Garden
[ St. Louis ]
Built in 1960, the Climatron at the Missouri Botanical Garden was the first geodesic dome to be used as a conservatory. With no interior supporting columns to interrupt the space, the 24,000-square-foot dome rises 70 feet at the center. The Climatron, so nicknamed because of its climate-controlled technology, is a lush tropical center that houses more than 2,800 plants, including about 1,400 different tropical species.

“It’s certainly unique, especially in Missouri,” said public information officer Katie O’Sullivan. “It’s always about 85 degrees in the Climatron and 85 percent humidity. It really is like you’re stepping in somewhere tropical. We had someone filming here recently, and it was supposed to be set in Haiti.”

The 8,900-square-foot Shoenberg Temperate House opened in March 1990, replacing the 1913 Mediterranean House just north of the Climatron. The temperate house features displays of warm temperate-zone plants, including a Moorish walled garden, a large bog area with carnivorous plants and a special section dedicated to plants found in the Bible.

The “Plants of the Bible” area includes 40 of the many plants mentioned in the Bible, such as date palm, pomegranate, fig and olive trees; caper; mint; and citron, and 20 story signs identify both the plants and corresponding Bible verses.

The garden’s annual orchid show opens February 2 and runs through March 31. The show is a once-a-year chance for visitors to see a rotating selection of the botanical garden’s permanent collection of 7,000 individual orchids. More than 600 orchids will be displayed in a Madagascar setting that features native plants, artifacts and waterfalls in the 5,000-square-foot Orthwein Floral Display Hall.

www.missouribotanicalgarden.org