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| Entrance to Fern Room |
After a short hiatus, I have returned to my volunteer work
at the beautiful and tranquil indoor Como Conservatory. Although spring has
sprung in the Twin Cities, today’s outdoor temperatures are quite cool, almost
warranting a need to wear pants and/or a jacket.
Thankfully, upon deciding to
defiantly welcome and embrace spring with shorts and my comfortable Como
volunteer polo shirt, the indoor conservatory air is toasty warm with a high
level of humidity - just right for this southern transplant.
Feeling more like I’ve been gone six years rather than six
months, as I look around, I notice that much is the same but with some subtle
differences. For example, the mango tree in the North Garden, is - poof - gone. The economically important
cotton plant has been moved to a different area of the North Garden.
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| Cotton Plant Flower |
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| Buddha's Hand Fruit |
The Palm Dome and Fern rooms look mostly unchanged although
I can see that a plant here and there has been pruned.
With a quiet sense of physical and mental relaxation, I walk
around with a wonderous sense of not only having returned to this tropical
garden, but also of making an excellent decision to not stopping this volunteer
work entirely.
The Plant of the Day, the Buddha's Hand tree - Citrus medica, for the first time that
I’ve ever seen, has three amazingly hand-like structured fruits growing on it. This
tree looks more like a then shrub than a tree. It is sold in many warm
locations as an ornamental tree. The fruit are touted as being a cornerstone of
conversation due to its unusual structure.
The Buddha's Hand fruit can be used in many different ways.
Like other fruits, this one can be used in creating delicious drinks. Because
the fruit is not bitter, it can be added to salads or other foods to boost
taste. The fruit also has a fragrant aroma and can be used indoors as an air
freshner. This fruit has been used to make jam in Iran and Pakistan. In South
India, has been used in pickles and preserves. In Korea, it has been used to
make tea to aid with coughing, relieve hangovers and to help with indigestion.
The Buddha’s Hand variety occurs naturally in China and the
Far East. The fruit has been used as an offering in Buddhist temples.
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