Where have all the flowers gone? Not far from here.
The Buffalo News
January 11, 2015
Indoor gardens can brighten up a dreary winter’s day.
When winter starts to get you down and you just want it to be spring, visit one of our area’s indoor gardens to brighten your day. Winter is so stark and bleak because there are no leaves on the trees, no colorful flowers and no green grass. A visit to one of the following places will make you feel like you’ve stepped into springtime, at least for an hour or so.
Across the border
Our neighbors to the north are known for their beautifully landscaped parks in and around Niagara Falls during the spring and summer. They also have a couple of year-round indoor venues that showcase their horticultural abilities.
Niagara Parks Floral Showhouse.
Located just south of the Falls tourist area, this conservatory was originally built in 1945; the visitor’s center, with its 40-foot-high glass dome was added in 1980. The floral displays are changed eight times a year to reflect the season. For example, in December, the showhouse is decked out for the holidays with hundreds of poinsettias, as well as Christmas cactus and selected pieces from its miniature village collection that will be on display until Monday. From mid-January until Easter, the inside of the greenhouse will look like spring, with hundreds of pink, blue and yellow flowers.
Niagara Parks Floral Showhouse, 7145 Niagara Parkway, Niagara Falls, Ont., www.niagaraparks.com. Admission is $5/adult, $3.75/child.
Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory
Since nothing says summertime like butterflies, a great chill-chaser when it’s cold outside is a visit to the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory, located just a few miles north of the Falls tourist area. The 11,000-square-foot conservatory, which opened in 1996, is the largest of its type in North America. It features more than 2,000 butterflies representing 45 different species. A 600-foot path winds through lush foliage and numerous flowering plants that butterflies feed on.
Butterflies are attracted to bright colors, especially red or pink, so if you wish to attract them to yourself, wear those colors. A number of years ago, when my daughter was small, she wore a bright pink sweater when we visited the butterfly conservatory and I was able to snap an amazing picture of her smiling at a butterfly sitting on her shoulder.
Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory, 2565 Niagara Parkway, Niagara Falls, Ont., www.niagaraparks.com. Admission is $13.50/adults, $8.80/children. Parking is $5.
“Flower City”
Rochester is known as “The Flower City” thanks to the park system and gardens created by George Ellwanger and Patrick Barry, as well as four parks designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. There are several indoor floral displays to check out in the city.
Lamberton Conservatory
Located in Rochester’s Highland Park, the Lamberton conservatory has a collection of tropical and seasonal plants. The conservatory was originally built in 1911 and restored/reconstructed in 2007. Due to the fact that the original structure had deteriorated beyond repair, the original conservatory was dismantled and an exact replica with modern materials was built. There is a tropical forest display under the main dome, as well as displays of exotic and desert plants. The mid-winter display runs until March 17, and the spring flower show is March 22 to May 5.
Lamberton Conservatory, Highland Park, 450 Highland Ave., Rochester, (585) 753-7270. Admission is $3/adult, $2/youth and seniors. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
Dutch Connection at the George Eastman House
If you’re in the Rochester area Feb. 13 to March 1 be sure to stop by the George Eastman House for the annual Dutch Connection flower show. The conservatory of the museum will be filled with more than 2,000 tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and other spring flowers. The mansion, the largest single family home ever built in Monroe County, was once home to George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak. In addition to information about Eastman’s life and inventions, the museum also has changing exhibits related to photography.
George Eastman House, 900 East Ave., Rochester, (585) 271-3361, www.eastmanhouse.org. Admission: $14/adults, children under 12 are free.
Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden at the Museum of Play
Another interesting place to see in the Rochester area is the Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden, located within the Museum of Play. (Admission to the butterfly garden is by timed ticket and must be purchased in addition to a museum admission ticket.). It is the only year-round butterfly garden in upstate New York. This butterfly garden, which is much smaller than the one in Niagara Falls, features about 1,000 free-flying butterflies in a rainforest environment.
Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden at the Museum of Play, 1 Manhattan Square, Rochester, (585) 263-2700, www.museumofplay.org. General admission to museum: $13.50; butterfly garden $4.
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