Belle Isle conservatory -Warning! picture heavy

[pavel]

Went to the conservatory on Belle Isle with the folks. First time we had gone there and we were a little disappointed -- it wasn't as big as we thought it would be nor were orchids in as great abundance as we had been led to believe. Overall, the Meijer Gardens conservatory in GR is much better. But all the same we did enjoy ourselves -- saw some nice plants (and it was most definitely "blooming season"), day was't too hot, and spent some family time. I did take pics (I know you're probably surprised about that LOL). Many of the plants did not have any ID tags/name plates so feel free to chime in with their names.

First the grounds outside









some type of thistle perhaps?








Now inside the conservatory



I was really surprised that my inexpensive lil camera was able to get such a good shot of the palm's flowers from such a distance (if you look closely at the pic above, you might spot this flower cluster at the top of the palm)



Took this one with you in mind, Bruce. Figure as you have a 'bird of paradise', you might like to see what heights your plant may aspire to (my sis is about 5'7")





beautiful leaves on this ... some sort of ginger maybe?



Jacobinia carnea





Plumeria had a white variety in the yard when I lived in Hawaii. Rather wish I had room for one but then again ... they were whitefly magnets in Hawaii.............



no idea what these were but boy they were lovely



banana flowers



Crinium longifolium



absolutely no clue what this is but the flower reminded me of a blue butterfly



incredibly vibrant Anthurium



an inner courtyard








Finally, in my next post on this thread, I will include shots of the courtyard pond and, of course, some orchids

[madphrag]

Excellent images, pavel! Brings back memories of being a landscape tech on Sanibel Island Florida about ten years ago!

[delphiguy]

wow thanks for sharing your trip with us.

[Diamond]

amaizing flowers. loved it. thanks for sharing.

[the dragonn]

Cracking pics Paul. The thistle is Sea Holly. It grows all over the coast here, and has many cultivars.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

That 'Bird' is a monster! I don't expect mine to ever grow to that size. Hmmm - maybe I should plant it in the floor of the greenhouse. ... hehehe...

Wonderful pics, Paul. Thanks so much for sharing them with us. It looks like a wonderful place to visit.

Cheers,
BD

[Bikerdoc5968]

Hey Paul, so where are the pics of the orchid house... I've been there several times over the years and that was THE PLACE to visit, even though I love the succulent house almost as much. Back then the orchid house was teaming with unbelievable chids in bloom and with the waterfall as the center piece, well just a neat place to hang out. But with money tight and the city having its share of hard times things have gone downhill. I know the MOS tries to do volunteer work on Saturdays but even that isn't enough!

Just for those of you who don't live in the Detroit area, Belle Isle is just that, a Beautiful Island in the Detroit River. It is a summer BBQ hang-out. There used to be a reasonable aquarium; closed no money. There was also a small zoo for kids with real animals and a petting farm of the usual domesticated farm animals; not sure if that is still there. The island is/was home of the very exclusive Detroit Yacht Club.

[pavel]

Now part 2

A few other plants from inside

Agave victoriae reginae -- about the size of a soccerball. Rather liked it myself. Was surprised at how hard the leaves were



I was way too short to get close pics from above for the flowers on this cactus -- the lowest flowering branches were 8 or 9 ft (2.5 to 3 m) off the ground



however I did get a good shot of this one's flowers (that the plant was only 6-8 inches tall helped )



Madagascar palm -- definitely NOT a "climb friendly" -- and its flowers



Now the few orchids that were in bloom -- none of which had name tags

vanda



milt.



dendrob



cym -- was actually a bit greener in person



an attractive Stanhopea



And finally the courtyard pond outside



these "piglets" quickly came over whenever they caught sight of someone who might have a handout





















not sure what this bird is ....




And last but not least, a couple of Gazania by the pond's walkway

[pavel]

Hey Paul, so where are the pics of the orchid house... I've been there several times over the years and that was THE PLACE to visit, even though I love the succulent house almost as much. Back then the orchid house was teaming with unbelievable chids in bloom and with the waterfall as the center piece, well just a neat place to hang out.

Unless the "orchid house" is in a different location/building, Howard, (and as this was my first time there pehaps I was in the wrong building?) I would say it no longer exists. The only orchids I saw were in the first main room and in the indoor courtyard of the conservatory -- and very few chids at that. We were disappointed in the lack of orchids and that the aquarium next door was closed. What we had expected to be an all day affair just took a couple hours including travel time (which was about an hour or a bit more round trip)

[Bikerdoc5968]

Paul, the orchid house was to the right as you enter through the main doors. There is a sidewalk the goes around the center court and about 1/4 of the way around the circle to the right is another entry to the orchid house but all of this may be gone now that the city has been ripped off by, well, just ripped off! Then there used to be a seasonal show house to the back of the center court and the succulent house to the left. The aquarium has been closed for years!