One of the things I am always interested by, looking at nature, is variety.
I think it's fascinating to sit in one place on a beach, and find pebbles of a dozen different kinds of rock. Or to find a dozen different sorts of shells, on a different beach.
Multitudes of various things, at the Botanical Garden.
So many different leaves -- shapes, colors, patterns..........
Love the watery marks here. I think the lighter green looks like sediment-laden water, working its way into the darker green.
This one looks like a party.
Wow. Checkerboard leaves! Who knew.
Like the dogs in Up, who can always be distracted by the thought of a Squirrel!, my attention is caught by flowers.......
These were big (more than 6" across). And fringy. On some sort of woody viney plant.
I never saw the stripes in the flower until I saw it on "the big screen!"
Ok, back to the infinite variety of leaves.....
Huge enormous plants; teeny weeny plants.
Want to guess what this is? The bricks are "standard brick size" size.....
Here's a hint.
Yep, begonias. I don't remember ever seeing such big ones!
Oooh. Yellow flowers.
No, wait, the yellow isn't flowers! The flowers come out of the yellow!
Don't they look like wings? Or a ballerina's graceful fingers?
Some really big leaves. (note other very different leaf shapes in the background)
And now for something completely different.... From something loose and free and huge, to something small, and as constrained as a plant can be.....
I actually got the descriptive info on the bansai -- this is a banyan fig, ficus retusa 'Tiger Bark,' from Asia. Started 1994, trained since 2001.
San Jose Juniper, juniperus chinensis 'San Jose,' Asia, started 1962, trained since 1977.
Fig, ficus 'Green Island,' Asia, started 1996, trained since 2001.
Back into the wilder parts of the conservatory. This flower was near the ground, but I think it must have been on a low branch of a shrub-sized plant. I think these leaves belong to another, lower-growing plant.... This flower was big -- five inches on its longest dimension?
Here you see the shrub, with another flower, and, my! Look at all the fat pointy buds! I can see that I should go back to the Garden, in a few weeks!
The last time I was at the Garden, there were lots (and lots) of interesting pitcher plants in hanging baskets. I didn't see those, this time. There were two bunches of pitcher plants in this planter. Love the patterns on this kind.
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2 comments:
I'm so glad you went and so glad that you're sharing! The greens... I love the greens!
Ha! Flower! (instead of squirrel!) Me too. :D :D :D
The pitcher plants are very cool... I think new to me.
So glad you are coming along. :-) Yes, the greens, greens, greens!
Flower! :-) :-) :-)
Pitcher plants are insectivorous. There is liquid at the bottom of the pitcher, which digests insects that happen in (and downward-pointing hairs or spikes on the inside walls of the pitcher, making it easy to go down, but almost impossible to get out).
They grow in places where the nutrients that are typically available to plants are sparse....
The last time I was there (a few years ago), they had a LOT of different pitcher plants in hanging baskets down at least one of the upper paths. I didn't see any of those, this time.
These big fancy ones shared a (very wet -- not quite pond-like) planter with another kind that was smaller and not so showy, and those were all I saw on this visit.
I believe that (smaller, much less showy) pitcher plants grow in the proper (very wet) habitat around here, but I've never seen one in the wild. Only in captivity. :-)
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