Holiday Highlight: Krohn Conservatory

Last Friday I had one of my "we-try-to-get-together-every-month-even-if-we-don't-always-succeed" days with my sister Nancy. After a delicious lunch at O Pie O near her home in O'Bryonville, we moved on to the Krohn Conservatory in Eden Park, one of the city of Cincinnati's renowned parks. At this time of the year, the Krohn's special show was "The Poinsettia Express," and we spent a lovely hour or so engulfed in poinsettias, but we also walked through some of the permanent expositions of greenery, and that was a calm amid the storms of hectic life experiences and the season. The picture to the left shows the entrance to the special poinsettia room, where, in addition to wonderful groups of amaryllis, speckled caladiums, and crimson-and-white dappled  poinsettias, there was "botanic architecture" of Cincinnati's historic landmarks, made from locally sourced willow twigs and other natural objects, a design and assembly of the aptly named and nationally recognized Applied Imagination organization. I recognized several of the Cincinnati buildings--Symphony Hall, the Incline, the Roebling Bridge--not least of all through the efforts of my sister, who has helped me get to know the city through our almost-monthly visits.

Model trains run through this miniature landscape--Applied Imagination founder Paul Busse has always been fascinated by trains and created his first public garden railroad for the Ohio State Fair in 1982. By 1984 he had officially added model trains to the garden creations that he now makes in numerous cities throughout the United States.  One of those installations is at the New York Botanical Garden, and THIRTEEN, the WNET public television station, has made an excellent video describing the process of creating botanical architecture, especially as it is applied to the buildings of New York.

The poinsettia tree is so high that I was unable to get its full height within my iPad camera!