Tagged With: Conservatory

Brookside Gardens

Conservatory, Brookside Gardens

Conservatory, Brookside Gardens

Japanese Garden, Brookside Gardens

Japanese Garden, Brookside Gardens

After driving down to Kensington to visit a friend briefly and drop off a couple Christmas presents we went to Brookside Gardens, a 50-acre public display garden within Wheaton Regional Park. It’s wonderful all year, of course, but we particularly like going there in the winter, because they have a greenhouse (or conservatory) that’s lush and green all year. One part of that has always been dedicated to flowering plants that are rotated throughout the year, although sadly they are no longer going to be doing that (because ‘sustainability’ which I suspect really means ‘budget cuts’). The permanent installation is nice, of course, but it was always a treat to see what was different, as well. There are two connected greenhouses and the second one had two very large model railroad displays set up (which will be there until January 6, I believe).

After spending time in both greenhouses the rain had stopped so we walked around the grounds as well, walking around the pond and onto the island with the Japanese pavilion, shown in the second photograph.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Brookside Gardens

U.S. Botanic Garden

Birds Nest and Maidenhair Ferns

Birds Nest and Maidenhair Ferns

Tree and Tassel Ferns

Tree and Tassel Ferns

Cathy suggested we go to the U.S. Botanic Garden today after church. It’s a place I enjoy and I thought it was a really good idea, so, we went. The last time we were there was in July of 2016. In the summer, of course, the outside garden is nice, too, but today it was all about being indoors. The large, central portion of the garden is great, with room for very large plants and trees, but I think the orchid and fern rooms are especially nice. There were only a few orchids in bloom but the maidenhair (Adiantum) and bird’s next (Asplenium) ferns as well as other moisture loving plants made that room nice. The fern room with it’s tree ferns and a few large tassel-ferns (which are actually clubmosses), is also very pretty.

I brought a sketch pad with me, along with a few pencils, thinking I might sit and sketch a little, but in the end, we didn’t sit much and I didn’t do anything but take photos. I think I’m intimidated by a blank page at this point, but at least I carried the sketch book with me. Maybe on the next outing I’ll actually sit and open it up.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on U.S. Botanic Garden