Conservatory
                                          
                  Chronicles 4

Issue #11 July 2008
In This Issue
Reflections on a Very Good Year!
New Website in Process
Recent Blooms in the Lowlands Gallery
The Golden Gate Express Garden Railway
Special Exhibits Schedule

Banner for butterflies

The Butterfly Zone
opened on Tuesday, March 17 and will continue through Sunday, November 2.

Night Safaris
First and  third  Thursdays
of the month
May 1 -  Oct 2
8 pm  -  9:30  pm

VISIT US

Hours:

    * Tuesday - Sunday, 9am - 5pm (last entry is at 4:30pm)
    * The Conservatory is closed Mondays
    * The Conservatory is closed on all Holidays except Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day.
    * Please note that on Sundays and all major holidays, Golden Gate Park closes many of its roads to all vehicle traffic

Information line:
415-666-7001

Admission:

    * $5.00 for Adults
    * $3.00 for Youth 12-17, Seniors 65 & over, and Students with ID
    * $1.50 for Children 5 - 11
    * FREE for Children 4 and under and all Jungle Pass holders
    * The Conservatory is free to all visitors on the first Tuesday of every month.

Maps and more information

 

Planning a Special Event?

Conservatory at Night
Photo: Billy Winters

The Conservatory of Flowers is the perfect place for your upcoming wedding, reunion, birthday celebration or other special event.
Visit our rental page for more information.



Jungle Pass

Unlimited Admission
to the Conservatory
for one year for one
low price!
Enjoy unlimited visits to
ever changing
exhibits for only $50!
The Pass admits
2 adults and
2 children 5 - 17.
The Jungle Pass
also makes a wonderful
gift for friends
and family.
 

Purchase a Jungle Pass here

HELP SUPPORT THE CONSERVATORY
 
We invite you to support the Conservatory to help us expand our environmental education programs and our horticultural collections. Your tax deductable donation is greatly appreciated.
 
New in our Gift Shop!

Conservatory Paperweight

This lovely glass paperweight is the perfect souvenir or hostess gift from the historic Conservatory of Flowers.
Available now in our Gift Kiosk.

SAVE THE EVENING!

Keep Track of this Important Date


You won't want to miss this exciting evening!
  • Magical trains
  • Enchanting Gardens
  • Historical intrigue
Please visit our website for more information.


"Reflections on a Very Good Year!"

Dear  ,

Reflections

For many non-profits the fiscal year does not always match up with the calendar year.  Not to make this a lesson in Accounting 101, but for the Conservatory of Flowers our fiscal year begins on July 1st and ends on June 30th of the following year.  For planning purposes and even seasonal shows and horticultural exhibitions, this is quite often a nice advantage in our calendar  The past fiscal year (FY 07/08) proved to be a significant one financially for the Conservatory as we accomplished nearly all of our quite aggressive and ambitious goals while navigating our way through to a balanced budget for the first time since the September 2003 re-opening. 
Reflecting back over the past twelve months, the dedicated team of professional staff and volunteers rallied together to present three outstanding horticultural blockbusters in CHOMP, Color:  A Winter Carnivale, and the ever-popular Butterfly Zone.  Everyone seems to love our new Night Safaris that allow visitors to enjoy the butterfly (and moth) exhibition on select Thursday evenings during the run of the show. Attendance rebounded to the near record levels of 2003 and with the successful introduction of the Jungle Pass many households within our community became supporters of the Conservatory in a new and important way.   Remember how much fun it was to surprise and honor our one-millionth visitor since the re-opening???
An essential Fund Development Department was created and Jane Scurich was hired as the first Development Director for the Conservatory of Flowers.  Jane initiated many important fund development programs that attracted an impressive number of new donors while re-introducing the Conservatory to many individuals, businesses and corporations that had been instrumental in the capital campaign back in the late 1990's that renovated our majestic 1879 Victorian glasshouse.
Advancements in the botanical collections were realized, more plants were labeled, the education program was enhanced with the introduction of the Discovery Carts, building systems were improved and in some cases re-engineered to help our facility operate more efficiently and curatorially correct. 
Probably our proudest accomplishment was the critical improvements to the Aquatics Gallery pumps and filtering systems to correct the water quality and allow us to re-introduce the Amazon Water Lily back into the pools.  This impressive signature plant of the Conservatory of Flowers is thriving and grows literally by leaps and bounds with each passing day.
The whitewashing of the Conservatory during the month of May brought back that pristine grandeur to its stunning architecture.  Perched up above a most colorful Conservatory Valley sea of seasonal color, our 'crystal palace' is the subject of thousands of photos and keepsake memories each day taken by visitors from all around the world.
On top of all of this, we are most encouraged by the countless comments of praise, gratitude, compliment and awe expressed by our guests probably the one that warms my heart the most - "It is great to see so many flowers in the Conservatory of Flowers!"
This blooms for you!  Here's to an even better year in FY 08/09!!!

Cheers,
Brent Dennis
Director.

                                                                                 Photo by Delores Gebhardt
 Good news from the Taproot Foundation!
 
Recently I received an email from Bob N., a frequent visitor to the Conservatory of Flowers. Bob wondered if we could put more photos of our botanical collection on our website - and label them with the genus and species. Great news Bob - and all of you who also are looking for more flower power and botanical information on our website! The Taproot Foundation: do it pro bono! has recently awarded the Conservatory a very generous in-kind web redesign. A team of six highly skilled professionals are donating their time and talents to totally redesign our website. Our current website was created during the campaign to restore the Conservatory. It has served us well, and while it is very attractive and offers a wealth of information, technology has advanced greatly in the years since its original design.
 
We appreciate your comments and will make every effort to incorporate them in planning for our new website. The Taproot team will be working with staff, volunteers and you, our visitors and supporters, over the next few months and hope to go live with our new Internet presence before the New Year.
 
Thank you Taproot!
 
Jane Scurich
Director of Development

COMMERCIAL PLANTS BLOOM IN THE LOWLAND TROPICS
 
Strophanthus Preussi

Strophanthus "Preussii"

Also known as the Poison Arrow Vine
Family: Apocynaceae
This plant is a Liana from tropical West Africa. It is one of a group of plants that Indigenous people used to extract sap to provide poison on the tips of arrows. Its properties are also used in cardiac drugs and can be a common source of cortisone
.

Clare Cangiolosi, Nursery Specialist            


Vanilla OrchidVanilla Orchid
After almost five years at the Conservatory our Vanilla has climbed towards the sun and decided to bloom. It is a lovely yellow flower, but we are very unlikely to see a seed pod emerge from the blossom. The reason for this is that there is one specific bee in nature that is known to pollinate this flower. That bee is the Melipone, and it is only found in Mexico where vanilla is a native grower.  Sadly, most vanilla production has moved from Mexico to Madagascar and Tahiti and, try as they might, the growers have been unable to get the Melipone bee to adapt to these environments.  So, if we are to see a seed pod on OUR Vanilla, someone will have to do what is done for most commercially grown vanilla today; climb the vine and hand pollinate it.

Don White, Volunteer Docent                            Photo by Brenna Green

DahliaDon't Miss the
Dahlia Dell!!!

Conveniently located just East of the Conservatory, the Dahlia Dell, is in full bloom. Volunteers from the San Francisco Dahlia Society maintain this beautiful garden for visitors to enjoy. Visit the Dahlia Societies website to learn more about the official flower of San Francisco.
 
Thank you for visitIng the Conservatory on-line. We hope to see you soon! Previous issues of our newsletter are available in our Newsletter archives
Contact Us
Director                                          Volunteer Coordinator                       Director of  Development                                  
Brent Dennis                                  Lee Edwards                                    Jane Scurich                                                  
415-753-7271                                415- 722-6650                                  415-595-6950                                          
[email protected]                        [email protected]                                 j[email protected]

Guest Services Supervisor            Director of Operations                                      

Leah Van der Mei                           Ann Ziolkowski                                                
415-225-2899                                 415 -377-1233                                                 
[email protected]                    [email protected]                                          

General Information                        Rental Information
415-666-7001
[email protected]
Upcoming Events

Event Title: The Golden Gate Express Garden Railway
Preview Party and Opening Gala - Save the Evening - November 19, 2008

Exhibit opens to the public on November 20th