Lewis Ginter Conservatory

The Conservatory is the centerpiece of the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and the home of a wonderful collection of orchids and tropical plants.

In the orchid house there was an interesting ‘kaleidoscope’ viewer set up over a pot of exotic plants..

There were two different viewpoints - through the kaleidoscope..

And through the crystal ball..

The crystal ball itself gave a novel view of the conservatory..

Toys of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s

It was interesting to tour this exhibit at the Virginia Historical Society and to see how many of the toys I recognized.  

Some were very familiar, such as the Matchbox ‘Hot Wheels’ and Mr Potato Head..

Some had not been very successful such as this model steam train.  The company - Lionel - had made many steam train models, but this one was produced with the view that it would appeal to girls - losing most of its authenticity along the way..

The ‘Lady Lionel’ was not a success!

In each decade section there was a living room set up where you could watch a black and white tv showing the relevant decade’s toy advertisements.

This 1970’s display featured the famous ‘Chopper Bike’.

Hungry Hippos was a familiar game from the 1970’s.

It’s a long time since I have seen a Fort like this.

Many of the dolls were familiar.

I don’t remember a Playmobil McDonalds I the U.K. but the aeroplane is familiar.

‘Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down’!

A good trip down ‘Memory Lane’!

Roses and Camellias

I spent much of today at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden outside Richmond.  It was sunny, if a little cool and very pleasant.

I didn’t quite know what to expect.  The trees are starting to turn but most are not very colourful yet.

Also I thought that many of the flowers would be over or cut back ready for the Holiday Festival of Lights which will start in late November.  In the conservatory they were already preparing the big floral Christmas tree..

As I walked around I was surprised to see so many roses and camellias in bloom.

The roses were beautiful, even though they were obviously in their final stages of flowering.  

The camellias, however, were a different story.  The bushes were covered with flowers and buds as if this was their main flowering season.  Are there Autumn flowering camellias?

The award for the strangest plant of the day goes either to this...

...which unfortunately had lost its name plate..

Or to this, in the conservatory, known as the ‘Bat Flower’ for obvious reasons!