Yesterday, in the rain, I was able to sneak into the Tropical Display House with the help of some bamboo in the Japanese Garden. They sure know how to sneak around. When I got in here, I thought I was in paradise. It is warm, but not too hot. Humid, but not too wet. A fountain in one corner makes a nice relaxing sound. Lots of lush plants are everywhere. I could get used to this.
There are so many interesting plants in here, it’s hard to talk about them all. There are several trees like banana and the pygmy date palm. The strangler fig scares me a little because the tangled mass of trailing aerial roots look as if they will scoop me up and away from my beloved dirt. It is cool to look at, but not to be near. Center stage is a giant bird of paradise, the tree form of the flower that florists like to use. I think I see a couple of buds forming, so the striking white flowers should be blooming before too long.
There are a lot of different gingers and begonias in here as well. I tend to see only one or two types of begonias in the garden, but in here there are so many different types that I haven’t met before – from the rhizomatous to the shrub type. It’s fun to see all the different types, but whenever I get in big groups of new faces, I often forget the names so you’ll have to come read the labels yourself.
Yes, I thought I was in paradise until today. I was sitting here, minding my own business when in came a gardener! She even pulled in a trailer with her. I thought I would be free of them in here. I hid behind one of the bigger begonias and watched in horror as she pulled out her pruners and began to slash away at a heliconia! I heard her mumble something about mealybugs, but why she was taking it out on the heliconia, I don’t know. I noticed that she also brought in pots of new plants, which means she is going to plant some new stuff, so I better stay away from any open spots in the beds here.
Wait! She just stood up and started looking around and glanced this way. I’ve got to hide . . .
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