Conservatory at Golden Gate

We drove to San Francisco the other day to see paintings at the Legion of Honor. However, it unexpectedly stopped raining, and I persuaded my family to go to Golden Gate Park instead to look at their extensive plant collections.

A hibiscus inside the Conservatory

We parked right next to the rhododendron garden where the plants were just beginning to bloom.

After a stroll in the rhododendron garden, we went on to the Conservatory of Flowers. The Conservatory is a beautiful domed structure dating back to the 1870s when it was bought from a private estate and donated to Golden Gate Park.

It is the oldest glass and wood building in the US, recently opened after an 11-year, $25 million restoration project.

Aloes blooming at the foreground

The grounds around the Conservatory are very well landscaped, with a succulent collection to one side...

Aloes blooming orangey red and bluish spikes of agaves

... and large plantings of poppies and marigolds in front.

Here's looking at you!

For someone like me who grew up in a continental climate, the collection of tropical plants inside the Conservatory is truly jaw-dropping.

Unfortunately, plant identification was difficult. Often it was impossible to figure out which tag belongs to which plant, and sometimes tags were missing altogether. So if someone knows what the plant above is, let me know:).

The beautiful vine above is a clerodendrum. I know it because my mom grows it as a houseplant, and hers is probably one third the size of the Conservatory plant.... I can't believe how beautiful this one is, with perfect leaves and lots of flowers.

The plant above I am pretty sure is an anthurium. Anthuriums are a very diverse group of tropical epiphytes and terrestrial plants from Central and South America.

The Conservatory also houses an extensive collection of orchids, some of which are very rare, and some truly unusual plants (Dracula vampira anyone?). More to come.

P.S. I was told that the unidentified plant with spotted flowers might be gloxinia. If it is so, it is certainly the biggest specimen of it I have ever seen.