Beautiful Blooms

Recently, Julia and I toured the conservatory at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.

We had hoped that there would be snow on the ground, and we would have the thrill of stepping out of the snowy landscape into the warm, moist conservatory filled with living, blooming plants...the stark contrast was what we yearned to experience. But even though we had plenty of snow on the ground at our house, there was no snow at all in Northampton, MA. But our disappointment at our timing disappeared instantly when we entered, for we learned that we had arrived just after their spring bulb show, and that all the bulbs were still blooming.

Oh, riotous spring blooms! And the aroma!

We learned that conservatories were called "orangeries" in Europe, and were begun by the French who wanted some way to grow citrus in winter. (When we were in England last year, we had tea at the Orangerie at Kensington Palace, which was a former conservatory or "orangerie".) When we left the bulb rooms, we moved into a small room which grew citrus. The smell of orange blossoms! That is one thing I miss about California!

From there we passed through one room after another. Some were divided by continent with horticultural specimens from each. And others were divided by type of plant...ferns, cacti, water plants, etc.

Neither of us had ever been in a large, glass conservatory before, and we decided that they appeal to our inner Victorians...everything beautiful and orderly, showing a fascination with the natural world, and sort of a way to travel to the far reaches of the world without really going anywhere. Plus, we could sit surrounded by exotic plants without fear that a large millipede was going to crawl over our feet, or a monkey drop down on our heads! You're laughing...but that really was what I was thinking!

It's the best sort of bean...a cocoa bean! It was actually labeled "Cocoa Bean - Chocolate Tree".

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit there, and have decided that we need to seek out more of these conservatories. I'm particularly interested in finding one that grows giant lily pads. Have you ever been to one? Do you have any you recommend?