botanic fanatic

Todd and I drove to Atlanta this past week for our business, but I left him and a few of his friends to "talk shop" on the first day while I went to the Atlanta Botanical Garden.  Now, we were frequent visitors to the one in Clemson, and we also took a trip to the Athens, Georgia location.  Very nice.  But the Atlanta one was a real standout. 

COLOR.

(Doesn't the coloration on this canna look like it's been carefully painted on 

with a watercolor brush?)

TEXTURE.

SHAPE.

I was blown away by the orchid conservatory.  I'd read The Orchid Thief last year, but filed the devotion to these sparse, finicky flowers under the same category of non-understanding as the devotion people feel for motorcycle racing, or skydiving, or collecting stamps...hmmm.  Well, I don't see it, but to each his own, I guess.  

Then I spent an hour in the conservatory.  Tiny, delicate works of art, suspended on the thinnest of stems.  Flowers that resembled hummingbirds, spiders, even a proboscis monkey.  

(That last one is just like a proboscis monkey if you're looking upside down, right?)

I hesitate to take on yet ANOTHER hobby, but man, those orchids!  I can see myself picking up a few next year, when I have a little more time to read up on their special needs.

After the orchids, I had just enough time to drool over one of my favorites:  bog plants.  Aren't they amazing?  I can't wait to get a bog garden going next year.

I zipped through the living sculpture installations...huge, made of living, growing plants!

Genius!  An all around impressive place.  Give it a try the next time you're in Atlanta.

Have a great week!