The Crystal Garden Conservation Centre in the city of Victoria, British Columbia, is a "tropical paradise under glass". Just inside the entrance there were a couple of real Flamingoes. There also was one of my favorite plants, one that I have only seen in conservatories, a Bleeding Heart Vine, Verbenaceae Clerodendrum. I am always intrigued by the exotic denizens of these tropical environments. Here in the conservatory it is forever summer. Flora from around the tropical world flourishes. I, who live in a northern clime, can only marvel at these surroundings. The Bleeding Heart Vine survives in USDA Zone 10 or 11. My Zone 5, bordering on 4, is a killer. It helps to keep the bugs in check and brings gardening indoors in the winter but prevents the enjoyment of year around green outdoors.
Butterflies, parrots and a Hyacinth Macaw added to the color of all the plants and flowers. Most plants were not named or else there identities were submerged within the dense growth. I admired all the unknowns. They were flower or Orchid or ?.
I have never been able to always remember the names of plants. They are but fleeting inhabitants in my brain. I have even forgotten the names of some of the specimens in my own quite limited garden. How I envy those of you that unhesitatingly pronounce not only the name but all relevant details of even the most obscure residents of your own and other gardens as well. My thumb may be partially green but my head is gray, inside and out.
A Stargazer Lily (don't let your cat eat it) was named, however. It reminded me how one year, being unduly forgetful, I proceeded to pull out a number of "weeds" one spring only to have the roots come up with one. That's when I finally remembered I had planted Lily's there the previous year. That was neither my first nor my last such mistake.
While the Crystal Garden emphasizes conservation of endangered species of birds, mammals and reptiles, it is the flora that abounds. A most enjoyable interlude within the city.
The following are three links to sites about Victoria, a must visit destination. Among the many gardens in the vicinity is the renowned Butchart Garden. Beacon Hill Park, within the city, provides a quiet pause among the garden's trees and ponds. It was there that the trees around one pond seemed to be the nesting
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