It’s only mid-August, but I’m already being plagued with anxiety over summer ending. (The fact that we’ve barely even had a summer probably doesn’t help much either.) Walking home from work (er, well, walking the long way to the bus stop at least) in the sunshine yesterday immediately squashed all the stress going on in my life right now- but how am I going to cope in December when it’s dark and rainy? Well, actually, I have a back-up plan for that (okay, I actually have 2 back-up plans, but the one I’m talking about today is way more affordable than that tropical vacation I’m planning). Even on the coldest, darkest day of winter, I know I can always head to the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Cal Anderson Park, where orchids thrive year-round and it’s always above 70 degrees. Not familiar with the Volunteer Park Conservatory? Well, this is the perfect time to get to know them, because they’re hosting two fantabulous open houses over the next two weeks that you really should check out.
This Thursday (August 18) and next (August 25), the Volunteer Park Conservatory is keeping their doors open extra-late (6:00 to 8:00pm) and hosting some open house events that will give you a sneak peak into what keeps the Conservatory warm all year round. The April 18th event will feature free behind-the-scenes tours of the production facilities and special rotating collections. Gardening nerds, this is for you. On April 25th, the docents will be back sharing their horticultural knowledge along with free live musical performances by local musicians.
So whether you want the real dirt on how to grow just about anything, or just want to scout out the place where you’ll be spending most of your time between November and March, pay the Volunteer Park Conservatory a visit and show them some support.
