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The San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers is located near the east end of Golden Gate Park, on JFK Drive. It’s the oldest remaining wood and glass public conservatory in the US. It has suffered from fire, storms, and neglect during its lifetime, most recently the storm damage in the winter of 1995-96, which storm I have mentioned here before. The giant Philodendron speciosum that was acquired at the turn of the 20th century was in great danger from the cold outside temperatures, but it was saved and still inhabits the tallest part of the building.
Local business tycoon James Lick bought the Conservatory in kit form in 1876, likely from a firm called Lord & Burnham in New York. The resemblance to the Palm House at Kew Gardens is intentional.
The 33 tons of glass were sent by boat around Cape Horn to San Francisco. Lick had intended to construct it on his estate in San Jose, but he died that same year before it could be built. It passed to the California Academy of Sciences and the Society of California Pioneers, who in turn sold it to a group of prominent philanthropists, who gave it to Golden Gate Park, which had just opened in 1870.
There are four main rooms: the Lowland Tropics in the center, the Highland Tropics to the right of it, and on the east end the Aquatics Room. To the left of the Lowland Tropics is the Potted Plant Room. Beyond that is the West Gallery, which is used for various purposes like holiday displays or private events. The West Gallery will be closed for renovation until March of this year, and the entire building will be closed for annual maintenance from Jan. 21 to Feb. 4.
I must mention there are two San Francisco Conservatories, the Conservatory of Flowers and the Conservatory of Music. So if you search for “SF Conservatory” you may get either one. It’s free for city residents and for everyone on the first Tuesday of the month. The website is here, but I warn you it appears to have been designed by evil gremlins.
I can’t do justice to what’s inside. Orchids, cycads, bromeliads, ferns, Hibiscus, palms, carnivorous plants, Tillandsias, papaya, cacao, Ceylon cinnamon, Anthuriums, and hundreds of other weird and wonderful things.
Starting with the Lowland Tropics:
Second and fourth from the top on the right are parts of the giant Philodendron.
There are gratings built into the pathways to drain away water.
There are speakers throughout the Conservatory playing jungle sounds. Frogs, insects, birds, monkeys, rain and water dripping, etc. The howler monkeys are kind of scary, and if you’re standing next to a hidden speaker that suddenly comes out with a loud squawk, it’s quite startling. I kept standing in the same corner by mistake and getting scared again by various loud bird sounds that seemed to be coming from just outside the glass.
I visited a couple of times for this diary, and the first time when I came with Hubs, the real rain was also beating on the roof. Very much tropical mood.
The Lowland Tropics Room is ringed with stained glass. The sign in the fourth pic says Verschaffeltia splendida, Seychelles stilt palm.
Next we have the Potted Plant Room.
The two pics with the purple flowers are Cochliostema odoratissimum, from Nicaragua. I smelled the flowers, and they are indeed faintly fragrant, which I can’t say for many of the other flowers in the Conservatory. Some of them are positively stanky.
I honestly have never noticed that little gargoyle on top of the pergola before.
It’s warm and humid in the Lowland Tropics and the Potted Plant Room. The Highland Tropics are cooler, and the Aquatics Room is very warm and very humid. It’s a great place to go to warm up after you’ve been wandering around all day because you’re distraught over a big fight you had with someone you’re close to. Speaking hypothetically, of course.
This article has some really good pics of the various other structures involved in caring for the Conservatory’s plant collection, thought it’s quite outdated. I wasn’t allowed back there, obviously. I did walk the long way around the back to get a look, but much of it is screened by a whole lot of podocarpus.
That brick chimney has got to be part of the original heating system. I imagine it uses natural gas now, though I couldn’t find anyone to ask. There are heat registers around the perimeter of the interior, and I’m guessing they are covering hot water pipes. I could feel the heat rising out of them, but there was no air movement.
There are two outbuildings facing the Conservatory that hold the projectors for the evening light show, which is projected onto the white exterior of the building. It’s called “Photosynthesis.”
The two left are in the Highland Tropics Room, top right is Potted Plants, bottom right is the Philodendron again. Supposedly it’s nicknamed “Phil,” but that’s so unsuitable. It’s like calling a giant monitor lizard “Pat.”
This is where I start to get confused about where we took the photos. At least the first three are Highland Tropics.
The Highland Tropics room has a recessed area in the middle. Hubs’ wallet somehow fell out of his coat pocket into the pit, and if I hadn’t heard it fall, we’d never have figured out where it went. And why does he not take his coat off in a tropical greenhouse? Because he is impervious to heat.
And finally, the Aquatics Room:
Top right is a model of Victoria amazonica, the giant water lily, which unfortunately is dormant this time of year.
I hope I’ve helped you feel a teeny bit warmer. Let us know how you and your garden are doing, unless you’re actually hibernating, in which case we’ll give you a pass.