The stunning view looking out from the front of the lath house...
Book photo spread: the Botanic Gardens Belfast Conservatory |
"The perception of North America as a backwater even extended to the continent’s flora and fauna: America’s native species were considered inferior to Europe’s. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) railed against the belief of French scientists that flora and fauna inevitably degenerated when transplanted to America. A famous eighteenth-century naturalist and the head of the Jardin des Plants in Paris, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Come de Buffon (1707-1788), wrote that in America, all things “shrink and diminish under a blackened sky and unprolific land.” In response, Jefferson dispatched twenty soldiers to New Hampshire to find a bull moose as proof of the “stature and majesty of American quadrupeds.” Buffon later penned a retraction, but the state of botany as a science in the colonies and early republic was also disparaged. Victoria Johnson, the author of American Eden (2018), relates that a French botanist, in Manhattan on a mission from Louis XVI, wrote home, “There are no informed people here, not even amateurs.”
Writing about Henry Phipps Jr. (1839-1930), the man behind Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the authors note that he. “…was genuinely concerned about the well-being of the working class and thought a public conservatory would benefit the city.” Of course that’s after they noted that the industry that fueled his fortune (steel) also “created a thick blanket of smog, that damaged the health of the workers.” Once completed the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens was donated to the city of Pittsburgh “on the condition that it be open on Sundays so that laborers could go there on their rest day.” Hmmm. Making my fortune I damaged the natural world, but now I am giving back.
Phipps Conservatory is definitely one I would like to visit, someday. The Scripps Conservatory in Detroit also looks like a great place to see...
I've been to the Conservatory of Flowers, The New York Botanical Garden, The Fernery at Morris Arboretum, Volunteer Park Conservatory, Longwood Gardens, The Balboa Botanical Building, United States Botanic Garden, and Allan Gardens Conservatory.
Book photo spread: the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory at Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan |
I count myself rather lucky to have visited several of the buildings on their list of New World Conservatories...
I've been to the Conservatory of Flowers, The New York Botanical Garden, The Fernery at Morris Arboretum, Volunteer Park Conservatory, Longwood Gardens, The Balboa Botanical Building, United States Botanic Garden, and Allan Gardens Conservatory.
I thought this was an interesting tidbit in the section on the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle: "From the beginning, according to the conservancy’s website, “the Conservatory’s mission was to educate, collect, and conserve threatened plants and to transport visitors beyond the open green spaces of the Park to another world that examines connected environments and plant species from around the globe.” Thus, the conservatory is no longer only a place to study botany, or explore the economic potential of plants, or even find a green respite for urban populations. It now has a conservation mission."
I've also had the privilege to visit some of the Modern Glasshouse Marvels...
I've seen the Jardin des Plants, Princess of Wales Conservatory, Parc André Citroën, The Davies Alpine House and of course the Amazon Spheres. Not on either of those lists are the conservatories at Kew (which I've also been lucky enough to visit), and that's because they are the subject of much discussion earlier in the book.
I've seen the Jardin des Plants, Princess of Wales Conservatory, Parc André Citroën, The Davies Alpine House and of course the Amazon Spheres. Not on either of those lists are the conservatories at Kew (which I've also been lucky enough to visit), and that's because they are the subject of much discussion earlier in the book.
Here's where I admit that I didn't read every word in this magnificent book, it had far too many details (painstakingly researched I'm sure) on the early days. I skimmed, I read the interesting bits, I soaked up all the lovely photos. I then returned it and felt lucky to have been able to put in a request and have the library system track down and deliver (to my nearest library) the book. Let's hope this benefit doesn't disappear under the current administration, along with so many others.
Book photo spread: The Schönbrunn Palace Park Conservatory, Vienna, Austria |
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Maybe I should have presented the Balboa lath house as an example for my husband's build of my tiny lath house ;) The structure is impressive but perhaps they used up their budget on the reconstruction and didn't have funds left for plants. I winced when I saw that sorry looking lawn in the first photo. Large lawns like that just don't belong in SoCal any more...
ReplyDeleteI adore glass conservatories, large and small. I've never been disappointed by one so I expect I'd enjoy that book too. I also looked up the book when I saw Camille's reference to it but I haven't purchased it (yet).
I will argue in favor of that tiny lawn, since this is a park (and families gather) it seems like a spot where a lawn really does belong. Can you imagine your husband's response if you asked for a lath house "inspired by..." ha. Or maybe he likes to be challenged and would have embraced it?
DeleteWow, the structure is beautiful. Did they forget to set aside $$$ for special plants? It deserves better. I laughed out loud at Victoria's “There are no informed people here, not even amateurs.” She sounds thoroughly disgusted! I'm going to check on the prior post to see the before.
ReplyDeleteAnd where did the plants that used to be there go???
DeleteI wondered the same when I was looking at your 2014 post.
DeleteBack in the olden days when I was a San Diegan we used to go to Balboa Park often, but I rarely went into the conservatory -it just didn't feature an interesting or well maintained plant selection. I'm glad to see they renovated the building , and at least the plants are new enough to look like they are cared for . But still not interesting !
ReplyDeleteStill not interesting...
DeleteSo dispiriting to hear about the plants. The building looks fantastic, but without cool plants, it's just a shell.
ReplyDelete