Tidying the desert plant display room

There are many recognized types of biomes on earth, scientists disagree on the number, but some estimate up to eleven different types. Displayed at the U of Minnesota Conservatory greenhouse are four different biomes selected for their diversity of plant life: antarctic forest, diverse desert, mediterranean scrubland, and ancient rainforest. Today, Coordinator A.. asked me to help clean the beds in the Diverse Deserts display. This room is open to the general public, and it gets quite a bit of traffic compared the to collection side of the greenhouse which is not open to the general public without appointment or supervision.

The Diverse Desert Room, D4, has four large beds filled with desert plants. The ground cover between the plants is made of granite pebbles. As time passes, leaves and other detritus from the plants fall to the ground cover, gradually coating the surfaces with debris. Today was the day to get down on hands and knees and clean out the debris from the granite pebbles. I used a small hand-broom to gently lift and sweep the debris onto the concrete path winding through the beds. Also, some of the smaller tree shrubs have grown to the point they need support to lift them up off the ground of the beds. We used twine ties and stretchy garden tape to tie branches to the fence railing which separates the display area from the collection side of the desert room.

For example, two of the larger shrubs are Plectranthus igniarius and Adenia venenata. Plectranthus igniarius is from tropical Africa, it is popular for its colorful flower spike (similar to that of coleus flowers). Adenia venenata has deeply lobed leaves on long green vines. White flowers in the spring are fragrant, with a sweet vanilla-like scent.

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I celebrate learning this about cycad plants

I didn't know that the cardboard palm - Zamia furfuracea - is a cycad. It isn't a palm tree (don't judge me, I'm not a botanist). But it also doesn't look like the other more familiar types of cycads with their fluted upright palm-like fronds. I didn't know it is said to be the second most commonly cultivated cycad, after Cycas revoluta . I didn't know this plant is unrelated to the common ZZ plant - Zamioculcas zamifolia - although they have a similar appearance. Before today I didn't know any of these things, but now I am happy to have learned them. From the parking lot I walked to the U of M Conservatory greenhouse in near-zero F weather. Stepping into the tropical spaces was a joy of its own. But being able to learn new information and experience new procedures was a compounding factor. Joy squared. During my 3-hour volunteer shift, my initial task was to clean the parasite critters (mealybugs and scale) from the stems and leaves of the cycad, Zami...

Another routine spectacular day in the greenhouse

It has been a sincere pleasure for me to volunteer a few hours a week at the University of Minnesota Botanical Conservatory. After many visits over the last few years, exactly none of those days have felt ordinary or repetitive. If there is a routine , it is that the botanic diversity of the collection - with over 3000 species - is displayed in a spectacular way each day. The Conservatory is located on the St. Paul campus, and is free of charge and open to the public during typical weekday hours. For instance, today most of my allotted time was spent in just one of eight rooms, the room that houses the tropical collection. The chores included pruning, re-potting, spraying, sweeping, etc. As I moved through the room, in every direction, there seemed to be a stunning plant pleading to be admired. After the chores were complete, I had the opportunity to go back and photograph some of the beauties that surrounded me while working. Dendrobium tangerinum , Papua New Guinea Dendr...

Botanical Garden of Prickly Plants in Palm Springs

This adobe wall and gate are part of the original hotel in Palm Springs, California. In 1938 the old adobe hotel was purchased by Chester Moorten, who had previously been a stunt man in early Hollywood working on films including the Keystone Cops movies. He and his botanist wife Patricia, lived and operated a desert garden center out of the old hotel. Locally he was known as "Cactus Slim" for his ability to maintain desert plants. Chester's son, Clark, carried on the business and became a noted expert in desert plants. Clark Moorten still owns and operates the Moorten Botanical Garden which is open to the public (except on Wednesdays, which I discovered the hard way). Original adobe wall of the old hotel, now Moorten family home Layout of the botanical garden Compared to other botanical gardens, this one is limited to one acre. However, what it lacks in size it compensates with variety and quality. There are specimens in this garden that would be difficult to find in the ...

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