Loch Ness in beautiful Scotland, was a place we didn't originally plan to visit during our anniversary trip. When we realized it was only a short distance

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Lush micro-worlds contained within walls of glass, there is something deeply alluring about greenhouses. So full of life, stepping from a cool day into a...

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The fernery, or the 'Grand Shade House' at Rippon Lea, is home to over 230 species of ferns.* Coincidentally, the latest issue of the Garden Design magazine that dropped down two days ago in the mailbox was titled "The New Victorian Age". It was full of Victoriana and pteridomania (which translates to fern craze or fever), two tightly related subjects, and contained some remarkably beautiful, overexposed pictures of ferns by Bryan Whitney on its pages. Ferns have been a stable in gardens and as indoor plants since the Victorian times, but it seems that there is a renewed fever in the air, ferns popping up again in interior design, on sheets, prints and other decorative elements. And considering the many articles and garden books about the Victorian age that have been published lately, maybe there is something to the magazine's claim of the Victorian period's 'second coming'... we'll see. * The shady verandas and terraces leading to the gardens; my girls are having a rest from the heat in the white garden chairs... * All this focus on Victoriana ties nicely together with my recent visit to Rippon Lea in the suburb of Elsternwick in Melbourne. Rippon Lea is a national treasure that has since 2006 been included in Australia's top heritage listing. It is the last of the great privately owned 19th century suburban estates to survive largely intact in Australia. Built and developed between 1868 and 1903 by leading Melbourne businessman and politician Frederick Thomas Sargood, the house was designed in Romanesque style by Joseph Reed, then one of the most prominent architects in Melbourne. * *The lake, with ornamental cast iron bridges - cast iron was another Victorian invention and favorite - leading from one side to the other. * * Although the surrounding suburbia has crept closer and the Rippon Lea gardens now are reduced from their original size, they still are of international significance as an excellent example of Victorian garden making. The last owners of the Rippon Lea, Benjamin Nathan and his daughter Louisa Jones, preserved the gardens relatively intact, and they still retain many features from the times of Frederick Sargood: a lake, a mound and grotto, extensive lawns, a huge fernery, a conservatory and a serpentine carriageway. To sustain his extensive gardens through the hot Melbournian summers, Sargood designed a sophisticated underground irrigation system that was driven by a wind-mill that still exists on the grounds. * The conservatory and a view from the fernery, constructed of cast iron arches supported by cast iron pillars, and covered with wooden slats.* How ferns reproduce was not properly understood until the 1830s. Once the mystery was solved (by accident in London) and nurseries could start propagating them, a fern craze swept over Great Britain and spread over to its colonies. A fernery became an essential element of large Victorian gardens, and as a passionate garden person, Frederick Sargood built in 1884 a 'Grand Shade House', a huge fernery imitating an Australian gully, to house his collection of more than 230 species from all around the world, including huge specimens of Australian tree ferns. *The shady, serpentine drive way, overhang with Moreton Bay figs. * The day of our visit was hot, up to 38 degrees C (100 degrees F), so the long, winding driveway overhang with huge Moreton Bay figs (Ficus macrophylla) provided a longed-for, shady welcome to the estate of Rippon Lea. But even more welcome was the coolness of the Great Shade House where we lingered for a long time admiring its lush verdant inhabitants, their fronds filling the air like huge lacy tentacles, hanging from the walls and covering the ground with their intricate, leathery leaves. I could completely understand the Victorians' infatuation with ferns and ferneries, and thought I would be more than delighted with their revival - just like we have experienced the renaissance of stumperies, another Victorian folly, during the last decade. So new Victorians - what comes to ferneries, I guess you can count me in! * * More about Rippon Lea, Elsternwick near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

A conservatory is a building or room having glass or other transparent roofing and walls used as a greenhouse or a sunroom. Usually it refers to a space attached to a conventional building such as a house, especially in the United Kingdom. Elsewhere, especially in America, it can often refer to a large free-standing glass-walled building in a botanic garden or park, sometimes also called a palm house if tall enough for trees. Municipal conservatories became popular in the early 19th century.

Gardens of Drummond Castle, Crieff, Scotland

Photographed at the Portland Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon.

The Temperate House will open its doors to the public once again on Saturday after the largest renovation in the history of the west London tourist attraction, which houses 10,000 plants.

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Taken 13th November, 2014 at RHS Wisley. When it rained we had a place to shelter ...

Growing by the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, California.

Wertheim Conservatory, Florida International University, Miami, USA

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Kiku - The Arts of Japanese Garden, currently at NYBG (New York Botanical Garden). www.nybg.org/exhibitions/2013/kiku/

The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory is the centerpiece of Como Park in St. Paul, MN. Designed and built in 1915, the conservatory was intended to serve two functions, as it still does today. The conservatory is both a show house where visitors can come in all seasons to enjoy tropical & semi-tropical splendors, and a shelter for the many plants the park displays in its indoor and outdoor gardens. One of the few remaining original Victorian style glasshouses in North America, the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory displays five seasonal flower shows annually in addition to the permanent botanical collections of palms, ferns, orchids, bromeliads and select tropical plant species. Listed on the National Register of Historic Sites in 1974, the conservatory has survived over the years through the efforts of devoted volunteers and donors who recognize it as an endangered species. In 1999 it became the 3rd botanical garden in the United States to receive the HortLandmark Award from the American Society for Horticultural Science. With a large contribution from the Donald McNeely family in 2002, it was renamed the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park in memory of plant lover Marjorie McNeely.

You have to visit here to believe it!

Alyogyne huegelii @ Mt Penang Gardens, NSW, Australia. Leaves and flower

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This 3-Part series of shots of the Exhibition Hall that follows the 7-Part Swan Sculpture will show the views from the other end looking back toward the swans and the Orangery beyond—where all the seas of poinsettias and other flowers and plants were depicted in earlier photos of the Orangery in our album on Longwood. We wanted to share our experience of the visit to Longwood Gardens’ 2014 Christmas Spectacular (the main theme this year is BIRDS). The festivities begin on Thanksgiving Day and continues through the end of the first week of 2015. In recent years, we have found that it works perfectly for us to go on Thanksgiving Day, for we would celebrate TG early and afterward. This allows an opening day attendance at Longwood, where the crowd is significantly less than during the peak weekend days. There will be a good number of photos to view, and for the most part, presented in correct sequence. Please check out our ALBUMS titled “LONGWOOD GARDENS of Kennett Square, PA” and/or “CHRISTMAS SCENES” for a better flow in exploring the photos, since the continuity is lost when uploading into FLICKR while many others are doing the same, thus, having a variety of shots mixed in between the ones representing our visit on this day. The wide variety of flowers and plants at Longwood Gardens are absolutely stunning in all stages and species . . . truly a Garden of Eden for anyone with a deep passion for these gifts of nature. The annual Longwood Gardens Christmas never fails to awe the visitors with one spectacular display after another. Whether these are in the magnificently elegant grand Conservatory, or outdoors within the over 1,000 acres of fabulous grounds, each and every thing is meticulously planned and designed, always arriving at some fresh ideas and/or concepts, while also maintaining the traditionally classic holiday floral and lighting appointments throughout. Given that the main theme for the 2014 holiday season is BIRDS, this can be seen in such spectacularly tasteful fashion throughout the displays of the vast indoor landscape. From the moment one enters the architectural marvel of the Conservatory, whether through the main Orangery or the East Conservatory, an awe inspiring view awaits.

IOCHROMA FUSCHIOIDES ‘ROYAL QUEEN’, A SPECTACULAR TROPICAL SHRUB FOR A SUMMER CONTAINER IS ONE EXAMPLE OF WHAT YOU CAN ORDER ONLINE NOW, FOR POTTING...

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