Butterflies and Blooms Special Exhibit at SF Conservator of Flowers

The Conservatory of Flowers at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park is having their most beautiful special exhibit "Butterflies and Blooms" again!  Exhibit will go on from May 8th to October 20th, 2013.

My daughter trying to catch a black and red butterfly
(or flutter-by as she calls them) at the last exhibit some years ago.

If you haven't had the chance to see this one yet, it's definitely worth the visit if you are nearby (or even if you are not so nearby)!  In addition to the four usual rooms (or wings) of the conservatory, which features Aquatic, Lowland Tropic and Highland Tropic plants, and Potted Plants, the special exhibit room will feature hundreds of exotic butterflies flying around the room in a dazzling array of spectacular colors as they stop from flower to flower, suckling upon its nectar.  An amazing display of chrysalis allows you to witness the birthing of new butterflies as well.  

Of course there is an amazing number of orchids on display throughout, especially in the Potted Plant room next to the special exhibit room as well as in the Highland Tropics and Aquatics Room!!!  And it is all situated in the beautifully restored Victorian greenhouse, the oldest wood and glass conservatory, also a national historic landmark!

Please check out their website for more information on the exhibit:

Conservatory of Flowers Special Exhibit | Conservatory of Flowers

Location/ Address
Golden Gate Park
100 John F. Kennedy Drive
San Francisco, CA 94118 
[map]

Hours of Operations
Tuesday thru Sunday:
10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.*
Monday: Closed**

Admission fees
$7.00 for Adults
$5.00 for Youth ages 12-17, Seniors age 65 & over, and College Students with ID
$2.00 for Children ages 5-11
Free for Children ages 4 and under
*San Francisco Residents: show proof of residency for reduced admission

Free Admission Day

The Conservatory is free to all visitors on the first Tuesday of every month.

Masdevallia triangularis - Mounted Orchid

Masdevallia triangularis in bloom, in the terrarium.  Much more high maintenance than anticipated than the Masdevallia rechingeria that you can see to its right, and I'm suspecting this has to do with the wooden board onto which it is mounted.  The specimen on the right however is mounted on cork and that seems to help the plant stay moist.  The triangularis bloomed for about a month before it finally wilted, or shall I say "dried out".  It needs daily misting.  I acquired this one recently at the 

San Francisco Orchid Expo.

The Hanging Garden

The Hanging World - Air Plant

This is a really pretty air plant which has lost a bit of its color since I first purchased it. The tips are usually a vibrant orange red but it lost a bit of the original color due to the low light setting of where I had it originally placed in the terrarium.   

Once I relocated it into the "hanging world" glass globe, its started to regain its color a bit again.  Needs frequent misting (every other day).  I've found in the past that leaving air plants soaking in direct water leads to quick rotting, and I've found that pebbles and baubles or marbles make the best ground material, enough to catch a little water and moisture without saturating the plant.  Once a week I also take him out for a good quick soak before putting him back into the globe.  As you can see it's about to bloom a beautiful purple flower, which I am excited about!!!  

The Terrarium - Jewel Orchids and More

The Terrarium.  This began as a failed attempt to keep geckos and frogs.  First I bought a Chinese cave gecko which escaped weeks after getting him for Christmas.  The frog only lasted a day before he disappeared.  I'm not sure if the kids just left the door open or if there is a secret black hole of amphibious doom laying hidden inside.  In either case I got to convert this into my terrarium for my real hobby, orchids, air plants, and other such exotic plants.  Here's a partial look (the gecko is plastique!).  Maidenhair fern, jewel orchid (Macodes petola), cork background and more.

Partial View of Terrarium

Close up of Macodes petola

Close up of the Macodes Petola (a jewel orchid) that I purchased at Paxton Gate in the Mission District of San Francisco many many years ago.  It has bloomed for me once, will try to post pics if I can find them, but they were tiny sprays of beautiful miniature white orchids.  It has shimmering veins of gold amidst the dark green foliage, the pictures really do it no justice, its such a beautiful plant and my favorite.  She does best when she is constantly moist, almost like a bog plant, likes to be kept very very damp.  She is sitting next to a carnivorous bog plant Pinguicula rectiflora, which has beautiful almost orchid like purple flowers that rise up from it when it blooms as well.