Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh known for annual exhibits

The 1991 Japanese Courtyard Garden; admission to the Phipps Conservatory is $19.95 but I felt the Phipps was a much better experience than the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus at the same price

The Broderie Room, which translates to embroidery of earth in French, is modeled after the formal gardens of French chateaux during the reign of Louis XIV; this elegant display space is a popular setting for intimate wedding ceremonies and photo shoots

Paintbrushes, Dale Chihuly, 2007; there are several outdoor gardens including an edible garden and a Children's Discovery Garden that would be nice in summer

Opened in 1902, species in the Desert Room include the Joshua tree, saguaro, palo verde, fire barrels, cape aloe, tortoise shell plant, bushman poison bulb, African tree grape, sunrise tequila agave, and shaving brush tree

Oncidium Sweet Sugar orchid; the conservatory complex is an extremely green facility in more ways than one; the Center for Sustainable Landscapes is housed here which produces all of its own energy

Goldenrod, Teal and Citron Chandelier, Dale Chihuly, 2007; following the close of the Conservatory's 2007 Chihuly exhibit, several pieces from the show were purchased and are on permanent display

Phipps Annual Winter Flower Show started the week after my visit; with a canopy of twinkling lights, fragrant decorated trees and thousands of poinsettias it would be a bargain for the same admission price I paid

Cattails, Dale Chihuly, 2007; the gardens were founded in 1893 by steel and real-estate magnate Henry Phipps as a gift to the City of Pittsburgh

The Tropical Forest Conservatory has a different national theme every 3 years; currently, Cuba has the honor with most of the plants inside being endemic to the island nation

Chinese juniper bonsai, 1985; famous authors from the city include David McCullough, Gertrude Stein, Willa Cather, Michael Chabon and Rachel Carson

Phipps has a large indoor miniature railroad exhibit called Rails and Trails; there is a Columbus-based company that is installing these exhibits to encourage more families to visit conservatories

There weren't many plants blooming in November but this was my favorite yet it had no identification; generally the species were well-identified with informative signage

Desert Gold Star, Dale Chihuly, 2007; Pittsburgh has been consistently rated one of the most livable cities in the US and I was impressed during my first visit to the city

At daybreak on February 2, Punxsutawney Phil awakens from his burrow on Gobbler's Knob (near Pittsburgh), and famously decides if the US is going to have 6 more weeks of winter

Maybe some of my botanist friends can identify this attractive species for me; Pittsburgh is a sister city with Wuhan, China but I haven't seen that promoted anywhere on this visit

Celadon and Royal Purple Gilded Fiori, Dale Chihuly, 2007; unlike many older conservatories, Phipps did not have a sense of decay despite the age of the greenhouses