The Conservatory at Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time then you know I love a glass conservatory. Back when I reviewed the book The Conservatory, Gardens Under Glass (in the second half of this post) I made a mental note of the New World Conservatories I'd yet to visit. Once Buffalo was lined up as a Fling destination I knew I'd be visiting the Lord & Burnham glass house in Buffalo's South Park (Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens)...

A visit to the conservatory was part of the first Buffalo Fling back in 2010, but wasn't on the itinerary for 2026, so I planned a pre-Fling trip out to see the building on my own. 

South Park itself was a Frederick Law Olmsted design, while the park was under construction ... "Lord & Burnham Co. was busy designing the South Park Conservatory. The design was modeled after glass conservatories in England and was built by a Buffalo construction company, George P. Wurtz & Son for a total cost of $130,000. Upon opening in 1900, the conservatory was the third largest public greenhouse in the United States and was ranked as the ninth largest in the world." (source) 

Here's a look at the entire building, a photo I took of signage inside the conservatory.

 "In 1981 Erie County purchased the conservatory and 11.4 surrounding acres within South Park from the City of Buffalo for $1. This called for a name change, thus creating the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. In 1982 the Botanical Gardens was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the New York State Register of Historic Places." (source)

The conservatory has come close to demolition a few times over it's history, first in 1929 and again after a blizzard damaged the building in 1977. Major restorations took place in 2000.

Prior to my visit I'd been warned the collections within the conservatory were, well, not all that. I'd love to say that wasn't the case, but in fact it was. There were tired displays that left a lot to be desired, there were signs of insect infestations. Still, I am so glad I visited. The building itself is what I wanted to see, and it was spectacular. I also found plenty of interesting planty things to photograph and I just ignored the others...

In the Palm Dome; Codiaeum variegatum var. pictum, the common croton. I did not know that crotons are in the Euphorbia Family!

Davallia fejeensis

So many great foliage plants.

Schefflera mato, maybe?

We've entered the Rainforest House now, where this strange fountain held court.

It felt, well, spinal. And kind of alien. And a little uterine.

Behind the ferns in the terracotta pots was a sort of raised framework filled with succulents. It was difficult to get a photo of.

Tillandsia usneoides

Kerriodoxa elegans

Into the Desert House now...

This tall Opuntia was a head scratcher.

It looks fake, assembled of pieced together segments. Yet those are real cactus pads.

Ah... yes! The infamous blooming agave that requires removal of glass. Usually when this happens in a conservatory it makes the local news. I was thrilled to witness such a spectacle.

It looks like the staff timed this one right, to get the bloom spike up and out before it branched (we'll see the agave itself in a bit, I have to work my way over to that side of the display).

Uhm, another head scratcher. Cactus in an aquarium?

In my made-up world this is a donation and the staff haven't yet had a chance to remove the cactus and plant them out.

Beauty!

Not a beauty, but such is the life of an elderly Opuntia.

The source of the tall bloom spike, Agave parryi.

Way up there!

Agave 'Cream Spike'

Agave ferdinandi-regis in the foreground, I think that's another A. parryi in the back.

Into the Bonsai House... Aeschynanthus longicaulis with Tradescantia pallida.

I skipped over the bonsai because they were nothing worth photographing, but wowsa! I loved these old staghorns, Platycerium bifurcatum.

I wish I knew how long they'd been growing there, and how they got their start.

Remnants of a different time...

What big curly leaves on that nepenthes!

Another staghorn, one that appeared to be just resting on a pedestal.

Ah ha! There's a nursery pot under those basal fronds.

I followed signs out into one of the courtyards surrounded by greenhouses on all sides ...

Back inside and entering the Orchids and Tropicals House.

I was drawn to the ferns popping up along the heating vents.

Tillandsia!

So damn impressive...

Didn't see signage and I'm not going to guess.

You could walk under that planted log arch.

There was a butterfly exhibit in the last part of the conservatory complex. Normally I wouldn't bother but since it was included in the admission price and there were plants in there... 

I do love exotic Passiflora.

Lots of butterflies too...

And more volunteer ferns.

After I finished up inside I wandered the garden areas around the conservatory, but didn't take any photos worth sharing. While wandering I hoped to find an angle where I could see the Agave parryi bloom reaching out, above the glass.

This was the best I got...

The Bit at the End

Botanical Gardens are always a good place to visit when you're on vacation (IMHO). The NY Times recently profiled seven gardens, kicking off the article is Portland's Japanese Garden. Here's a gift link to the story.

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