Take a Tour of the Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati!
In the Krohn Conservatory you can go from one House to another and it's quite amazing that a deep jungle and a desert are only steps away from each other. The Krohn Conservatory is divided into multiple Houses: the Palm House, the Orchid House, the Floral House, the Tropical House, and the Desert House. All are under one roof through the clever partitioning of the designers.
Butterfly Show
The Krohn Conservatory Butterfly Show runs from May through June and it is one of the signature events for the Conservatory and Cincinnati. The delight it brings to children is wonderful and expect to be delighted yourself as it is quite a charming sensation to be surrounded by multi-colored butterflies. It would be impossible to count them and they are released to fly freely within the Conservatory, adding yet another blaze of color to an already charming display.
Christmas Show
Another of the annual events held at the Conservatory is the Krohn Conservatory Christmas Show that runs from early December until into the New Year. This is always a very beautiful show and is truly one of Cincinnati's defining events. It's extremely popular and traffic can be maddening but it's a very special time at a very special place.
History
The Krohn Conservatory is one of Cincinnati's finest public resources and it was completed in 1933. The Conservatory was named in honor of Irwin M. Krohn, Board of Park Commissioners from 1912 to 1948. This structure, together with Warder Nursery in Finneytown, replaced the old Eden Park range of greenhouses that was built in 1902 on the same site.
Information
You can visit the Conservatory yourself in Eden Park in Cincinnati at the following address:
1501 Eden Park Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio
513-421-5707
You can also click the Support tab at the top of the blog to review a form you can print off to mail into the Conservatory to keep their wonderful work happening. The Silas Orchid Conservatory doesn't collect any money, this form is for your convenience and is offered in the hope you can help support the actual Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati.
Flower Clock on Eden Park Drive
Before going inside, take a look at what's across the street.
Flower clocks are an old European tradition and this one may reflect some of Cincinnati's pride in its Old World heritage.
Once inside the Conservatory, you will probably forget all about time.
This is the original Krohn Conservatory Web site but please note that it is not the official Krohn site. I wrote it back in '95 as a way to give back something to a place that has been very special to me in many ways. The official version is at the Cincinnati Parks Krohn Conservatory Site but I didn't copy it. What you'll see is an adaptation of my original work and I thank Chris Carroll for the credits to show that.
The Krohn Conservatory Pictorial Tour
The Lobby
This is the Krohn Conservatory Lobby. The bench in front of you is a pleasant place to people-watch as they wander about the Conservatory. There is also a railing that overlooks the creek that runs the length of the Palm House.
On each side of the railing are steps down into the Palm House, an indoor rain forest complete with a twenty-foot waterfall and towering trees. You will find a little wooden bridge over the creek that flows away from the waterfall and it's a very popular site for wedding photographs. There's a walk-through cave under the waterfall and young men have been stealing kisses back there for generations.
The sun is very bright and the air is hot and humid in the Tropical House on your left. To your right is the Floral Display House that is used for special events. Beyond the Floral Display House is the Desert Garden featuring a remarkable variety of cactus plants. Finally, beyond the desert area, you will find the Orchid House.
All of the exhibit areas in the Krohn Conservatory have special charms and all of them are completely different. It only takes a minute to see why this is one of Cincinnati's most prized resources but it will take many repeat visits to appreciate every aspect of it.
The Palm House
A 20-foot waterfall cascades over layers of native dolomite limestone into a goldfish stream running the length of the house. A wooden footbridge crosses the stream and this is the view one will see from it.
There is a large walk-through cave that runs underneath the waterfall and it's likely that many Cincinnati romances started in that cave. It's not large enough for anything steamy but it's quite enough for young girls to giggle if they see you. It's quite a charming place.
This is the closest most of us will ever come to a tropical rain forest. Rising 45 feet, the great height of this central house is designed especially for palms and other tropical forest trees like the rubber and banana trees. Beneath the palms, several distinct layers of smaller palms, shrubby plants and ground cover vie for the light that makes its way to the rain forest floor.
There's a great deal of life above you. Epiphytic bromeliads, orchids, and ferns are growing in many of the trees.
The Tropical House
A large variety of ferns, both terrestrial and epiphytic, reside in the high humidity and warm temperatures of the Tropical House. An unusual cycad, bromeliad, and begonia collection surround the two naturalistic pools. There is quite a large lizard that may well be an iguana who lives here and he (she?) may come as a surprise but he's harmless.
Several important economic plants are represented: among them, the chocolate tree from the shady tropics, the tall papaya tree, the vanilla vine, and the dwarf banana.
The Floral Display House
Some of the biggest attractions since the Krohn Conservatory opened in 1933 are the six seasonal flower shows that take place in the Floral House: Spring Preview, Celebrate Spring, Mother's Day, Summer Blooms, Fall Colors, and Winter Magic. All of them present an incredible array of living art. The picture shows the Spring Preview as there are Easter lilies all over. But even during the times between the special shows, the diversity of the flowers on display is always a wonder.
One of the most popular features is the annual Butterfly Show during which many species of butterflies fly freely around you but most special to the people of Cincinnati and for people for miles around is the Christmas Show.
Surrounding the changing exhibits is the permanent collection of orange trees, kumquat trees, giant Ponderosa lemon trees, and grapefruit trees.
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| Fountain or Birdbath? |
There are quite a few birds flying around inside the Krohn Conservatory and they no doubt appreciate the fountain. It's one of the many unique embellishments in the Floral House and whether it's a fountain or a bird bath really depends on whether you flew to it or walked!
The Desert House
Cincinnati's indoor desert is the home of many succulents, including cacti. These plants have the ability to store water for long periods of time. Arid conditions, cold winters, and a hot summer sun bring the desert plants into colorful spring bloom.
Of the thousands of species of succulents, the Krohn collection contains such representative groups as the Yuccas, Agaves, Aloes, and Crassulas. From the cactus family, there are the Cereus, Pereskia, and Opuntia or "prickly pear" cactus.
It is quite amazing that this desert environment can exist in Cincinnati where the Winter temperatures will sometimes drop as low as twenty-five degrees below zero!
You can walk through the Desert House to the Orchid House or go back to the Floral Display House.
The Orchid House
Bearing a magnificent variety of blooms, the orchid family is probably the largest in the world with over 25,000 species and as many hybrids. From the several thousand orchids growing in our greenhouses, only those plants - approximately 75 -- which are in their peak blooming period are displayed. Seventeen common genera of orchids are represented, including the popular corsage orchid, the cattleya. Above the Orchid collection ranges the huge Monstera Deliciosa, Swiss Cheese Plant, which bears edible fruit.
Note: The above is the original image I shot back in '95 but the Orchid House has since been rebuilt to give much closer access to these beautiful flowers.
There is a large array of individual orchid photographs in the Silas Orchid Conservatory and most of the photographs were shot in the Krohn Conservatory, most as part of a long convalescence after a quite bad motorcycle crash. I can never hope to repay what I owe this wonderful place but I do hope to share what I saw, just as the Krohn Conservatory has been sharing this beauty with us for all these years.
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