NYC Photos - Botanical Gardens Conservatory

The New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx has a large conservatory greenhouse with many rooms. When we were there in early April, much of it was dedicated to their famous orchid show (photos of that to come in later blog posts!), but they also still had some of their general collection available for viewing in the conservatory as well.

The photos below are from the tropical greenhouse rooms (not including the orchid pictures, which will come later):

I'm not sure what most of these flowers are, but I did recognize the bougainvillea (the pink tree flowers), as well as the calla lilies and waterlilies. 

More photos of the other rooms in the conservatory greenhouse to come soon!

Orlando Flowers (Part One)

Last month, from February 3-7, my husband and I took a vacation to Orlando, Florida. We stayed at Cabana Bay, a Universal Resort Hotel, and visited Universal's two theme parks - Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We also spent a day at Disney's Epcot.

Our main goal of the trip was to see the two Harry Potter worlds that Universal created in its theme parks - Diagon Alley in Universal Studios, and Hogwarts/Hogsmede in Islands of Adventure. But along the way, we also happened upon a great many gorgeous, colorful flowers. Coming from cold Michigan, it seemed like there was an abundance of sunshine and color in Florida. Needless to say, I couldn't help snapping a few pictures of my favorite flowers.

All of these photos were taken in Universal Resorts (around the Cabana Bay Hotel, the "garden walk" to Universal City Walk, and the two theme parks) and in Disney's Epcot, which had a lot of great picturesque views with floral landscapes.

Here are some of my best photos (I will post a few more tomorrow):

Notecards ("Patterns & Flowers" 6 Pack)

These six notecards are prints of watercolor paintings I've created over the years.

They are available for sale here on Etsy.

The six featured prints are:

- Oian Sunset, a 15"x22" watercolor painting

- Melange Modele, a 22"x30" watercolor painting

- Waterlilies, an 11"x15" watercolor painting (- the original is available for sale on Etsy here)

- Splattered Dahlias, an 11"x15" watercolor painting (- the original is available for sale on Etsy here)

- When Fear Gets in the Way, an 11"x15" watercolor painting (- the original is available for sale on Etsy here)

- Feminine Layers, a detail of a 22"x22" watercolor painting (- the original is available for sale on Etsy here)

This set of notecards is also available on my Etsy page, as well as at the Paint Creek Center for the Arts in downtown Rochester, Michigan.