Most people love flowers and San Francisco puts on one of the great floral shows. The enticingly-named Conservatory of Flowers is located in a Victorian-era greenhouse and displays beautiful flora from all over the world. One of the backlashes of the industrial age was a yearning for open, green spaces and a wide interest in botany, leading to construction of giant botanic greenhouses in both Britain and the US. With its central dome and arched-shaped wings, many believe that the Conservatory of Flowers’ design was inspired by that of Palm House in London’s Kew Gardens. Sitting gracefully on a rolling hill in the city’s enormous Golden Gate Park, it has been a San Francisco landmark since construction in 1878.
Like most landmarks, the conservatory has had a dogged history. In the first half of the 20th century it was plagued with serious maintenance issues, and a series of fires rendered the wooden and glass structure unsound (yet surprisingly it came out unscathed from the city’s great earthquake of 1906). By 1998 the conservatory was placed on the list of the 100 Most Endangered Landmarks in the World, a catalyst for major charities and preservation trusts to raise funds for its rehabilitation. Twenty five million US dollars was raised and put towards renovation work that lasted last four years.
Today, the Conservatory of Flowers hosts several exhibits each year under its majestic central dome, and a rotation system means that all species are shown at their blooming best. One of the most recently popular has been ‘Chomp!’ a fascinating and somewhat ghoulish look at carnivorous plants such as the pitcher plants of Borneo and the fly-eating Venus flytrap (the largest of this succulent is aptly named ‘Abandoned Hope’).
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