Last week, I missed the shop in the Brookside Gardens conservatory; it was closed for inventory. But the conservatories were open and full of color. The variegated crotons were lush even though a lot of the other foliage had been severely pruned…giving room for a lot of new growth.

Some of the plantings they had been putting in the soil when I visited toward the end of January were blooming. I was fascinated by the structure of the flowers…and their color.

My favorite picture from this walk through the conservatories was of this desert plant – somehow the light and the shape of the leaves appeal to me.

There were snap dragons – mostly pink ones.

And orchids in lush groupings planted in urns.

Every time I see this bush with the red puffs – I always want a bottle brush that is this shape and color!

One of the examples of new growth because of the pruning was this new leaf that will expand to a huge leaf that is all green. I was surprised that the new leaves have so much red in them.