[All photos by Julia Stotz]
My original plan today was to show you my finished hot water bottle cozy but I was just looking at the photos and they’re pretty terrible so instead you get to look at beautiful photos from my recent trip to the Garfield Park Conservatory with my friend Julia! We had an awesome time, I took about 200 iPhone photos, learned a thing or two about a few plant friends, and played model for Julia. We happened to go on a day when it was about 11˙F and the heat and humidity felt so amazing, especially for someone like me, who may as well be cold blooded. One of the plant tenders saw us taking photos and he turned on the misters in the Palm House for us so we could get some pretty light (what a super nice dude, right?!) and the girl working at the front desk told us a few great stories about kittens being born in the conservatory and the habits of the raccoons who occasionally break in at night. We even spotted one of the resident cats…meow! All in all a great trip, I can’t wait to go back, especially if we get any more bone chilling days this winter!
Sounds like a wonderful way to spend a cold Chicago day! Besides the weather, your photos are making me miss sweet home Chicago. ;(
Haha it doesn’t seem like anyone every misses the Chicago weather. I have to admit, I do love a nice winter day though!
This sounds like the perfect retreat from the cold! That’s so awesome that guy turned on the misters for you! What a dear!
I know right? Total sweetheart ♥♥
Reminds me of the Fernery at the Morris Arboretum here in Philly. Greenhouses are miserable in the summer, but are almost like a spa treatment in the winter.
Ha you are not kidding, it’s like a beautiful sauna in the winter! I once got trapped in the Lincoln Park Conservatory on a humid, rainy, 90˚ day, I had really awesome hair though.
I love conservatories, they’re so pretty and that’s really interesting that they have some cats living in there
I guess they keep the small rodent population in check, though I don’t like to think about that. Mice are cute!
Garfield Park is one of my favorite places for winter outings with the kids. They have this fun scavenger hunt map where the kids look for certain plants and then put a sticker (and what kids doesn’t like stickers?!!) on their map when they find it. I love this place!
I saw some kids with those, looked like fun!
What a great adventure! Such greenery is so refreshing this time of year.
That looks SO much like the Plant House where I took some of my undergraduate botany classes…thanks for bringing back a nice memory
Glad I could jog that for you! I’ve never taken a botany class but I used to sit in the University of Illinois greenhouses and draw on the weekends sometimes. That was really nice + relaxing.
ooh that looks like a great way to spend a winter’s day! I used to love visiting the glass house in Glasgow – you’ve reminded me I’ll still need to make the trip to the Botanic Gardens in London – thank you!
I’ll bet the Botanic Gardens in London are amazing, I would love to go back to that city someday!
Ooo! The conservatory! I volunteered there for about a year almost 10 years ago, working mostly in the fern room. I think moss is magical! Thanks for the stroll down memory lane. And, I love your sweater!
Gorgeous photos! I wouldn’t have thought to go to botanical gardens, but what a great idea for a cold winter day!
Awesome jacket. Is it handmade?
That is very Where the Wild Things Are!! Great pictures!