Missouri Botanical Garden

Several weeks ago John and I had the privilege of attending the grand opening of the Taylor Visitor Center of our St.Louis gardens.   It was a good transformation, way beyond what I imagined it would look like.  Even the outside of the building has a different appearance, as you can see in the picture abov

The high midsection of the building, which you may notice in the first picture above, is the glass atrium. That part of the center immediately caught my attention as I entered the center.  The soaring atrium was designed to let in "dappled natural light", causing one to feel like they were in clearing in the woods- according to the garden's brochure. It did not give me that feeling, but still is very pretty. Continuing with the theme of trees, the terrazzo floors were designed to look like a forest floor sprinkled with leaves from the many different kinds of trees in the garden.

One other new feature in the center, besides new changes in the cafeteria on the first floor, is the area above the information desk. The lighting was designed to appear like the "light and shape of fireflies".  

I was disappointed that, once we stepped outside, we were not greeted by beautiful landscaped gardens! No, on second thought, I realized that construction of the center began in 2019 and ended in this month of 2022. The final phase of renovation is not expected until spring of 2023, when the surrounding landscapes of  the newly constructed areas will be completed. Something else, which I should mention here, is that the gardens now have a 50,000 gallon collection system that will support 92% of irrigation for all of the greenhouses.

Pictured above is another view of the new center, in the background. Despite the disappointment of seeing flower beds with only dirt in them behind the building, there was still the beauty of the water lilies in the pond next to the Linnean House. You can see the corner of that brick building in the picture above. I believe that building use to offer a variety of azaleas, rhododendrons, and camellias. I loved to see them blooming during the winter months! But that will be changing, as the building will be returning to what the conservancy was originally designed for back in 1882- to be an orangery with displays of citrus and Mediterranean plants.

 We ventured further into the gardens and once again saw all of its floral beauty. As usual, we enjoyed our day there, but it was a hot one. I will end this posting with a picture of a familiar scene in the garden- a lily pond decorated with yellow and orange Chiluly glass balls and a variety of sculptures.. The climatron greenhouse can be seen in the background.