A cold and blustery day in St. Paul! As I stand in the North Garden,
surrounded by tropical lushness, I’m surprised to see snow swirling in the
gusty winds outside. I'm surprised to see this because it wasn’t snowing when I came in this morning. I guess I need to listen to the weather
forecast more often. Seeing the
snow fly outside makes me feel grateful and happy to be inside the beautiful
Como Conservatory.
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| Sunken Garden - overcast outside |
I got to work with new volunteer today. She started in the
North Garden. We had a rich
discussion about art, culture and the intersection of art and economics as
perceived and cultivated in human society. Very interesting to meet new people and find out about their
backgrounds and interests. This
volunteer is new to the path of gardening and ethnobotany but is well on her
way to becoming a knowledgeable MCC interpreter!
Lots of young kids here today. I was able to point out some well-hidden bananas to a couple
of very young kids. Too bad they
are hidden - visitors love to see fruiting plants that they can identify
with!
The flower show is as beautiful as ever. There's always a gardener's talk about
the flower show at 1pm, but that's when my shift ends and I always need to go
home to tend to my kiddies. One
day, I'm going to attend this talk!
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| Common Fig - Pollard Trimming |
Today, a visitor asked about the difference between a date
and a fig. From a distance, both
can seem to be much alike. We
talked about the fact that the date comes from the date palm and the fig from
the fig tree. Dates grow in
bunches while figs grow singularly.
The date has a pit. The fig
has seeds inside. They both
provide fiber, but the fig more so and can detrimentally affect your health if
you eat too much at once.
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| Date Palm |
The Plant of the Day is the Date Palm – Phoenix
dactylifera. Dates from the date
palm are eaten the world over.
They are economically important to many regions in multiple countries. The Date Palm offers many other
economically and environmentally important features. The entire date palm tree is very popular for
landscaping. Date seeds can be
roasted and used to make coffee.
The seeds can be gound and turned into animal feed. The seed oils, rich in several fatty
acids, have been used in soaps and cosmetics. Although small in size, the seed can be burnt and used as an
effective charcoal.
The date palm trunk can be used in small scale construction
or to make small items like fence posts.
As it grows, leaves fall off leaving a scar mark around the trunk. The
inside of the trunk is filled with pith – a soft fiber material. Because of
this, palms do not add growth rings each year to show their age.
For an incredible amount of more information about date
palms:
