Winter forms our character and
Brings out our best.
Old man winter has his arms wrapped around the
northern hemisphere with a grip that states emphatically that he is with us for
a while. “Ha” he says, “What do you
think of that!” And I reply, “I think
I’ll take a break from your cold grip and relax in the beautiful, tropical
serenity of the Como Conservatory.”
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| Entrance to North Garden |
Seriously folks, come visit the Conservatory to experience
the lush serenity of the indoor tropical gardens of the Marjorie McNeely
Conservatory in St. Paul. The warm
temperatures, high relative humidities, beautiful flowers and lush greenery
will warm your bones and melt your heart!
Make sure that you visit the North Garden, a repository of
plants that provide social and economical benefits to communities around the
world. One of my favorite plants in this
room is the coffee plant, Coffea arabica. This is my, and possibly the world’s,
favorite drink and reportedly the second most valuable international commodity
after oil. This crop is grown on multiple continents in multiple
countries.
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An estimated 100 million people depend on coffee for their
livelihoods. Its export value alone is immense and, as such, it plays a crucial
role in the economies of many countries.
In addition to its value as a rich source of antioxidants
and as a necessary morning cup of joe for many (like me), other micronutrients
in coffee add to the positive effects of consumption including flavonoids,
magnesium, potassium, niacin and vitamin E. The caffeine in coffee is known by
many to help cure headaches, but too much caffeine is also known to cause
health problems. Some promote the addition of coffee grounds to prepared foods
to promote the intake of antioxidants. In Japan, people imbibe the
health-giving properties of ground coffee by bathing in them. At the moment, I’ll stick to drinking my
three to five cups each morning while watching the news and preparing myself
for a good day’s work.
