what we have here is a failure to communicate

My last two visits to Phipps Conservatory were barely a week apart. The first was with my Mom and little sister, who kept to a leisurely pace which provided me with lots of time to investigate via camera lens all the pretty details of the Summer Flower Show. The second visit was with a dear friend, who joined me with her own camera in hand and went at a snail’s pace, providing me with enough time to get completely lost several layers deeper in the details.

Flowers are always lovely – the structure of their faces, their dueling simplicity and complexity…

It’s fun to see them change from season to season, and the fact that there are always different orchids in the Orchid Room kind of blows my mind. It was a delight to visit twice so close together too though, as I could check back with some little flowers that had gone from blossom to bloom.

Yes, flowers are always lovely – but I found my attention drawn increasingly to ferns over these last two visits, and by extension to the more abstract forms and patterns of plants. In the Fern Room the fronds of most of the plants were covered in spore cases (called sori) because the ferns are starting to reproduce (which they do without seeds). Each variety of fern has its own distinct pattern of sori on the underside of the fronds, and these can be gorgeous.

I went a little Georgia O’Keeffe with my photography, lingering long over each plant that grabbed my eye, relishing the angles and soft curves and the million shades of green.

I’ve seen almost the full turning of the seasons at Phipps, but it’s exciting to note that I won’t grow tired of the place anytime soon. There’s always something new to see there, some plant or flower or seed pod that sparks the wonder in me, rekindles my curiosity. I’m looking forward to many more happy hours spent there staring at the greenery. Or at this bit of glory:

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My complete album of pics taken at Phipps can be found here. Enjoy!