More pictures from my last visit to Roger Williams Park Botanical Center. To the right, in the background, is my favorite plant that I saw there (at least so far–there’s probably always something different in bloom and I’ll probably change my mind several times over the course of the year).
This is the purple glory tree, Tibouchina granulosa, a small tree or rangy shrub that grows to 10-15 feet tall. It’s native to parts of Brazil and Bolivia, but grows freely in Hawaii and the warmer zones of California and Florida. It can be cultivated indoors under the right circumstances. There are a lot of them at the Botanical Center, all planted in large above- ground planters–giving me hope that one day I myself might be able to grow one, despite living in New England. This particular species isn’t considered invasive but other species of Tibouchina are, especially in Hawaii.
I don’t know what all the other plants are (yet)…don’t the pink-blossomed, jack in the pulpit -looking things in the foreground look like anthuriums?
The last two photos are to give you a better idea of what the BC looks like inside. Above is what staffers call the Moongate. The pots in the foreground are some sort of lavender or rosemary, can’t remember which off the top of my head.
Below you see the succulent and cactus garden. Most of these plants are very old. Unlike most of the other plants (which were bought from wholesalers in California and Florida), the succulents and cacti were rescued from two greenhouses in the Park, where they had been growing for many years. Check out the size of the agave on the right, that’s no spring chicken!
