Today after breakfast at the new branch of First Watch on Aloma Avenue, we went with our buddies Alan and Mark to visit the greenhouse at Rollins College; it was a nice antidote to all the yelling I’ve been doing this week thanks to the imminent destruction of the pioneer Capen House.
Alan is the greenhouse manager, and this morning he gave us a tour. According to the Rollins website, The Susan O. and Frederick A. Hauck Botanical Research Center, or what is commonly referred to as “The Greenhouse,” is conveniently located next to the Alfond Boathouse on the shores of beautiful Lake Virginia. The Greenhouse opened on October 20, 1983, to facilitate student and faculty research, provide plant material for study and to permanently house a diverse collection of plant species, some of which are indigenous to Florida. During the Summer of 1998, a student designed and installed a butterfly garden. A book which describes each plant in the butterfly garden in detail is available to the public as a reference during normal hours.
It was very warm inside, what with all this weather we’ve been having, but I managed to photograph some of the inmates before the camera’s lens fogged over.
This is a chenille plant, though I first knew it as “Love Lies Bleeding” when I planted seeds years ago. “Love Lies Bleeding” sounds like the name of one of those bodice-ripper romance novels featuring Fabio on the cover.
I’d ask to live in here if it was air-conditioned, but then I would survive and most of the plants wouldn’t. Besides, there might be bugs. I can imagine waking up at night and, in a panic, breaking through the glass panes because I discovered that I was covered with ants. It’s very nice inside, steamy and tropical and there are hundreds and hundreds of unusual plants growing and blooming.
A geranium and a blood lily.
Pitcher plants. These things are big, over six inches long in some cases, and have been known to entice and digest things like mice.
Beautiful orchids, here and below…
Ropy donkey tail, a sedum.
A nut from a cacao tree. Inside there is Swiss chocolate!
I also took some video of Alan demonstrating how the Venus Fly Traps work, but they are .avi files and won’t upload on WordPress unless I buy an upgrade.
And there’s so much to see on the college grounds. Pinehurst Cottage, erected in 1886, is a showplace. It was one of the school’s original two buildings.
And the chapel…
It’s a beautiful spot for a school, nestled along Lake Virginia. It deserves a trip back, by bicycle.
What Can I Say ? 
…always get great solice and inspiration from your tours…
…solace–scuze my illiteracy…
Strange that I go over to the campus so often & nobody ever told me about this greenhouse. Wonder if a garden group could visit it.
If there was swiss chocolate in that cocoa nut, I’d be all over it!