Readers of this blog know that I am a big fan of the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park in St. Paul. During the coldest time of the year, I love to visit the conservatory to soak up the humidity and warmth as well as to admire the exotic plants.It’s a bit like taking a trip to the tropics, without leaving town.
This year happens to be the 100th anniversary of the conservatory at Como Park and so we decided to mark that event with an article in Northern Gardener. I was thrilled to be able to write this piece and show some of my photos of the conservatory. You can read the article online by clicking the image above, or you can see it in the January/February 2015 issue of Northern Gardener.
What’s your favorite way to get through the winter?
I’m not a gardener, Mary, but I do enjoy your blog — and I have loved the Como Park Conservatory since I was a girl. Getting through the winter: For me it’s 100-degree, high-humidity classes at Core Power (sweating feels great!) and meeting my running buddy twice a week on the treadmills at St. Thomas, where we chat away the calories and the miles. I also like to bundle up and walk. And all of this allows me to eat the carbs and sweets that my body seems to crave during cold weather.
Thanks for commenting, Amy! I have never tried high-humidity yoga, but any humidity in the winter is good.
I am fortunate to live close enough to UMass which has the Durfee Conservatory, Smith College with its Lyman Plant House and Mt. Holyoke College’s Talcott Greenhouse. The Bulb shows in March are gorgeous! But they are wonderful all the rest of the winter, and every season, as well.
I LOVE the Como Conservatory. The Music Under Glass series they have going is the new favorite date night for my boyfriend and I. Such a nice change from the frigid outdoors!
I’ve got a few posts over on my blog about the conservatory as well. I just can’t resist taking tons of pictures when I go. http://collegegardener.blogspot.com/2012/04/adventure-to-conservatory.html
Thanks for sharing your posts, Abby! Como is a real gem. I know how you feel about taking photos there — can’t resist!
Mary, you have captured in words and photos the essence of one of St. Paul’s crown jewels, the Como Conservatory. I have also enjoyed the relatively new addition with its high humidity, gurgling water, the slothful sloth hanging over its branch, and my favorite, the leaf-cutting ants and their fungal host!
Thanks, Margit! I’m going to have to check out the sloth!