A Story Book Christmas at the Franklin Park Conservatory, Etc.

 

First of all I want to thank all of you for your
well wishes, kind thoughts and prayers for
my daughter Shelly. The tests said that the
mole was benign and not a melanoma cancer
so I am one thankful Momma today.
I want you to know I appreciate more than
you can ever know for your support. I know
I can always count on you so thank you from
the bottom of my heart.

 

For those who may have followed my blog for a while
you may remember these pictures of the train display
at the Franklin Park Conservatory from last February.
The train display was brought up to the entrance
for the “Merry& Bright” displays for the
holidays with an all new festive look.

Now it is all decked out with Poinsettias and
seed light twigs for a Story Book Christmas display.

Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf have a
little cottage in the display.The Wolf did not
look to fierce in the dress so no children were
frightened by him.

The Three Little Pigs still had their homes intact.
We watched one little girl with her eyes so bright
walking around and taking everything in and she
was loving finding all of the little treasures and
watching the trains.

The display had this cute little red trolley just flying
around the display and through the tunnels.
I couldn’t for the life of me get a picture of the thing.
All I got were blurs. LOL!

A Banana Plant Musa acuminata was growing
on this visit.It is an green stemmed plant which
never forms woody tissue. Each stem blooms
and produces fruit only once; it then dies and is
replaced by a new offshoot.

Near the front entrance bushes of red berries adds
color to the grounds on a bleak cold day.

While indoors some of the Chihuly glass displays were
dressed with Poinsettias for a Holiday feel.

Some of the passage ways were lit  up with mini
lights on the archways.

 

A Crown of Thorns Euphorbia splendens  was in bloom.
A wicked and beautiful looking plant all wrapped up in
one package.

With blooms like these what is a little finger stick or okay maybe ten.

Orange trees and….

Meyer Lemon trees were bearing fruit.

This was our third trip to the Franklin Park Conservatory
but I would love to go and visit there at night when the
conservatory is all lit up.

Wouldn’t it be beautiful for a night visit?

 
I suppose everyone is ready for Christmas?
I am as ready as I am getting this year.
Just in time with more snow moving in every
other day now.
Thank you so much for visiting my little blog
this year. I appreciate each and every one of you.

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Anthuriums , Prayer Request and a Win

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.
We had a mixture of rain and snow and today
it is windy with flurries and it feels like a
deep freeze outdoors. It did not take me long
to sweep the walks this morning.
I was notified by Kylee over at “ Our Little Acre”
that I had won a TroyBilt Snow Thrower from
the giveaway she held. Talk about being gob
smacked. I was thrilled to pieces.

It will get a work out here in the hills for
certain. Well maybe my son will give it a
workout. LOL!
Thank you Kylee!

Now to warmer topics….
The Franklin Park Conservatory has many
Anthuriums growing in the tropical garden
and other sections of the conservatory.

On my visits to the conservatory this is the
one plant that was showing constant color in
and amongst the green foliage plants there.

 

Even though Anthuriums are relatively easy
to grow even in adverse conditions I am guilty
of killing even these poor plants.
I have such terrible luck with growing plants
indoors because of the lack of sunlight
and the dry air. That’s my story and I am
sticking with it. LOL!

Anthurium  is a large genus of about 600- 800
(possibly 1,000) species, belonging to the arum
family (Araceae). Anthurium can also be called
"Flamingo Flower" or "Boy Flower", both
referring to the structure of the spathe and spadix.

Under the proper environment they produce long
lasting flowers year round.

Anthuriums prefer a growing media that is coarse and
well drained. This may be one of the reasons why mine
failed I should have had more perlite in the potting
mixture.

While Anthuriums are able to handle dryness around
the root ball, they need to be watered thoroughly and allowed to dry slightly before watering again. Allowing
the plant to dry out will greatly slow down the growth
cycle. Drying out can also cause the tip to burn and
root damage, while over watering can also cause root
damage and sudden yellowing of leaves.
On mine the leaves got a black spot that continued
to go outwards until the leaves died.
Maybe the problem was overwatering causing a
root disease ?? I am at a loss really.

 
I think the white ones with the shape of the blooms
remind me of the Peace Lilies and look so delicate.
I may have to try another one some day.

In the Tropical section the resident squawker was
making quite the ruckus on the day of our visit.
Maybe it was just time for breakfast or lunch.

In the hanging baskets which held other colorful
flowers last Spring the baskets were decked out
with Poinsettias to add a Holiday flair.

Lastly and foremost I am requesting prayer for my
daughter, Shelly, who has to get a mole removed
tomorrow.
We are praying it is benign.
Thank you all so much!

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Gingerbread Houses At Franklin Park Conservatory

 

Hello everyone! This has been a snowy and cold
week here in the Hills. Maybe not as snowy as
it has been for those blogging buddies up around
the lake and Cleveland though. Everyone take care
up north.

I wanted to show some more pictures taken at the Franklin Park Conservatory on our visit last week. Keeping with the
“ Merry & Bright'” theme at the Conservatory they had held a Gingerbread House making contest for the children. Those were some talented children and they made some fantastic looking houses.

 
One familiar figure among the Gingerbread Houses was Charlie Brown and his Christmas tree.

Doesn’t these houses and trimmings just get
you into the Christmas spirit? They made such a
festive display in the basement of the Conservatory.

This one must have included all of their favorites things along with the puppy. Hamburgers? I admit I love them
too. LOL!  The gumdrop tree looks yummy.

The Grinch. This must be after he saw the error of his ways and returned  all of the Christmas back to Whoville.
I have to admit I was never a fan of Dr. Seuss so I may
have this one all wrong.

 

This one of Worthington Inn won a Blue Ribbon.
Look at all of the detail on it. All those beautiful
leaves and flowers.

And then there were a few that were made by
the adults representing  Currier and Ives pictures.

I just loved this one. I could live there. Well come to
think of it it does resemble my home. Minus the sleigh.

All decked out with a snowman and even a little
red Cardinal on the fence.

Or maybe a little cottage is your style. The snowman
was either  melting or he had lost his head because
his hat and nose were in the snow. Looks like ours
right after the boy cousins took a broom and whacked
the head off of us girl cousins snowman. Yes, that is it,
because that has to be Grandma in the door telling us
to behave ourselves.

Around the grounds of the Conservatory grasses blew
and shone in the sun….

sparkling with their feathery  heads.

Everyone have a good weekend coming up.
It looks like we are going to have a very messy one
here in the hills with rain and snow. I just hope it
all does not turn to ice.
Happy Gardening,
Lona

Upside Down Christmas Trees

 

While walking around in the Franklin Park
Conservatory for their “Merry & Bright”
Holiday displays we came upon a decorated
Christmas tree that was hanging up side down.
I had seen pictures of them before where people
had hung them from the ceiling just for fun
but I was surprised to know that it had been an
old German custom at one time.

As a way to express hope in the forth coming
season, 16th century Germans hung evergreen
trees top side down from the ceiling and decorated
them with so many edible ornaments  they were
often called “Sugar Trees”.

Upon further research about the custom
I found several references to the up side
down  trees.
The triangular design of the Fir has also been
used to describe the Holy Trinity of God the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Eventually, converts
began to revere the Fir as God's Tree...as they had
once revered the Oak. By the Twelfth Century it
was being hung, upside-down, from ceilings at Christmastime in Central Europe, as a
symbol of Christianity.

The tradition of a Christmas tree spread across
America during the 1800s with the arrival of
German immigrants. One of the first public
displays of a Christmas tree was set up by German
settlers in Pennsylvania at a time when many
people still considered the tree to be a symbol of
pagans. The Germans would bake fancy ornaments
for their trees and then consume the decorations
when the trees were taken down. After Christmas,
these frugal people would strip the needles and then
wrap the branches in cotton to extend the life of the
tree for several Christmases to come. Fruits, nuts,
flowers and lighted candles also adorned the first
American Christmas trees, but only the strongest
could support such a weight without drooping.
Thus, German glassblowers began producing
lightweight glass balls to replace heavier, natural decorations. These lights and decorations were representations of the joy and light of Christmas,
with the star atop the tree symbolic of the
"Star in the East."

Everyone Enjoy Your Week,
Lona

Poinsettia’s at Franklin Park Conservatory

 
Thursday and Friday my daughter and I were
running around taking in some Christmas events.
After a little more decorating indoors this morning
I am taking the rest of the day, other than cooking,
watching the snow storm come in and catching up
with my blogging friends.

  Thursday while in Columbus we stopped by the
Franklin Park Conservatory to look at their Holiday
displays for “Merry & Bright”.
While outside different pines were decorated with
white mini lights,the  inside of the conservatory was
filled with holiday colors and touches.
Poinsettia’s were everywhere and we especially loved
this Poinsettia tree.

The mostly common poinsettia of red were prominent
through the conservatory and lit up all of the green
foliage in different areas.

 

Beyond the main entrance the Poinsettia tree greeted
us and  assorted colors and combinations filled the beds
of displays.

There were rows of this red with white marbled Jingle Bells variety of Poinsettia.

The white Poinsettia’s mixed with the red and
and the marbled was lovely.

 

An important note or disclaimer about……
The old wives' tale that poinsettias are poisonous is
simply not true. The Society of American Florists and
Ohio State University conducted a scientific investigation disproving the charge. In fact, The Poisindex Information Service states that over 500 leaves ingested by a 50-pound child would demonstrate no toxicity. Of course, like all ornamental plants, the poinsettia is not intended for
human or pet consumption.

Also clustered plantings of pink and white marbled
were added to the mixture.

The pink and white Marbled variety was very pretty
in this big setting but I had a pink Poinsettia
last year and it just clashed with my Christmas
decor. In some of the homes that have whites
as their main theme these would be just the
right Poinsettia for them.

The Monet variety of Poinsettia below was one I had
never saw before. It reminded me of tie dyed colors. LOL!
Or maybe it is just the era I came from that reminded
me of it.
The colors faded from reds, to pinks, and creams.

A Legend of Poinsettias

A charming story is told of Pepita, a poor Mexican girl who had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve services. As Pepita walked sorrowfully to church, her cousin Pedro tried to console her. "Pepita," he said, "I am certain that even the most humble gift, given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes." Pepita gathered a bouquet of common weeds from the roadside, for this was the only gift she could give. As she entered the chapel and approached the alter, her spirits lifted. Forgetting the humbleness of her gift, the girl laid the weeds at the feet of the Christ Child. Suddenly, Pepita's ordinary weeds burst into brilliant red blooms! This miraculous event was named the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night. Today, we call these flowers poinsettias.

 

A white garden cart displayed them for those
who wanted to buy them at the gift shop in
the conservatory.

The ones I liked the best were the red Winter Rose
variety. I loved the ruffled cluster of double red brats
on the green plants.

The Real History of Poinsettia’s
The plant we know today as the poinsettia has a long and interesting history. The fact is, that lovely plant you place in your home during the holidays was once used as a fever medicine!

Native to Central America, the plant flourished in an area of Southern Mexico known as Taxco del Alarcon. The ancient Aztecs had a name for this plant found blooming in the tropical highlands during the short days of winter:cuetlaxochitl. Not merely decorative, the Aztecs put the plant to practical use. From its bracts they extracted a purplish dye for use in textiles and cosmetics. The milky white sap, today called latex, was made into a preparation to treat fevers.

The poinsettia may have remained a regional plant for many years to come had it not been for the efforts of Joel Roberts Poinsett (1779 - 1851). The son of a French physician, Poinsett was appointed as the first United States Ambassador to Mexico (1825 - 1829) by President Madison. Poinsett had attended medical school himself, but his real love in the scientific field was botany. (Mr. Poinsett later founded the institution which we know today as the Smithsonian Institution).

Poinsett maintained his own hothouses on his Greenville, South Carolina plantations, and while visiting the Taxco area in 1828, he became enchanted by the brilliant red blooms he saw there. He immediately sent some of the plants back to South Carolina, where he began propagating the plants and sending them to friends and botanical gardens.

I will be showing more blooms  from the “ Merry & Bright “ Holiday displays at the Franklin Park Conservatory in
the coming days.
Everyone have a wonderful weekend and……….
Happy Gardening,
Lona