Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Phipps Conservatory ~ Spring Show 2011


What a lovely family day-out on Friday! We all enjoyed the sights... and the perfumed scents!... of the spring flower show at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, PA. 
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   It is always a nostalgic journey for me to this conservatory.  One step into the greenhouse and I am flooded by the sights and scents that I adored as a child.  Gazing at the vaulted ceiling of the glass house... being surrounded by magical tree ferns... color and blooms everywhere!... and the over-powering fragrance of tulips and hyacinths in an enclosed area.  I particularly remember seeing a photo of my sister and I smiling all bliss in our Easter dresses (complete with bonnets) while standing by a giant white bunny surrounded by tulips.  There started the miracle of the glass house for me, child of the snowylands.

   This amazing combination was my favorite, as I am always a lover of purples and chartreuse.  It was in the East Room, which includes a meandering stream bed. This adorable tulip is T. 'Blue Spectacle', here with a maidenhair fern (similar to Adiantum capillus-veneris) and dark-leaved coral bells (similar to H. 'Plum Pudding').   What a wonderfully lively combination!

 

   Some shining whites...  Tulipa 'White Triumph' with white caladiums (similar to C. 'White Christmas') stand in front of one garden urn and hedging (above left).   The dazzling Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum) in a pot with ferns and blue lobelia (above right).

   The Darwin hybrid tulip (Tulipa 'Design Impression') has uniquely yellow-edged leaves.  Here it is in a planting box with the white caladium.


   Tulipa 'Design Impression' (above left). Interior of single late Tulipa 'Pink Diamond' (above right).


   Amazing blooming hybrid azalea bonsai (Rhododendron 'Southern Indica'), now 20 years in the making.

Do not miss some vivid glimpses of the 2009 Spring Show!

11 comments:

  1. Great job capturing some of the best parts. =)

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  2. I love the blooming azalea bonsai. Your photos are wonderful and you must have had a great time. So much to see.

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  3. look at those gorgeous colors...great pics!!

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  4. Oh, that white one white bed is beautiful. I'm really into the whites right now. I did a double-take on the bonsai azalea.

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  5. I love the combination of umbellatum is a wild flower here, I have it in the garden and will plant more, they are lovely and flower so generously, multiple flowerheads and repeating, a friend has some she says I can dig up! I think another 'stream' next to the muscari would look perfect! Lovely to hear about your childhood memories, thanks for sharing. Christina

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  6. What great plant combinations! I really like the first one with the purple hues. Your photos are great and really show off the plants. Thanks for sharing your visit.

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  7. Beautiful! I love the tulips and heucheras and maidenhair ferns... I wish I could grow them like this here. Thanks for the tour and the wonderful pictures.

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  8. I am loving those shots, it's so cold here, we are fffffffrrreeezzing.

    Good to see some color.

    Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

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  9. What elegant plantings! Even though I can't get enough of colorful pairings (like the chartreuse one) this time of year, the white tulips are SO striking.

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  10. Your pictures of the Tulips are so beautiful!
    I would really love to go to Phipps someday, I've never been!! Sounds awesome though:)
    ~Olivia

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  11. I too love purple and chartreuse combination! It's one of my favorites! Phipps Conservatory...spring show...that's my kind of family outing!

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