Volunteer Park Conservatory facts for kids
The Volunteer Park Conservatory is a special place in Seattle, Washington. It's like a giant greenhouse filled with amazing plants from all over the world. You can find it at the north end of Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill.
This Victorian-style building is made from 3,426 glass panes and a frame of wood and iron. It was designed to look like the famous Crystal Palace in London. Inside, the Volunteer Park Conservatory has five different rooms, each with its own type of plants: bromeliads, ferns, palms, seasonal flowers, and cacti/succulents.
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Amazing Plant Collections
The conservatory has gathered its special plant collections over many years, often from gifts by people who love plants. Inside its glass walls, you can see thousands of living plants. Many more are grown in greenhouses next door. Four of the conservatory's five rooms – the bromeliad, fern, palm, and cacti/succulent houses – mostly show plants from one main group. The fifth room, the seasonal house, changes its plants throughout the year.
Explore the Plant Houses
Bromeliad House
"Bromeliad" is the name for plants in the Bromeliaceae family. There are over 2,400 different kinds of bromeliads around the world. Many bromeliads are epiphytes. This means they grow by attaching themselves to other surfaces, like tree branches or rocks, instead of in the soil. In this house, you'll see many Tillandsia species growing on a special iron display tree. The conservatory also has bromeliads that grow in the ground, like the pineapple!
Fern House
A fern is a plant from a group called Pteridophyta, which has about 20,000 different kinds. This house has many cycads, which are ancient plants that look a bit like palms or ferns. You can also find a Mexican breadfruit and tropical flowers like passionflower (Passiflora sp.) and hibiscus. A cool part of this house is the bog gardens, where you can see carnivorous plants! These include Venus fly traps (Dionaea muscipula), sundews (Drosera sp), and pitcher plants (Sarracenia sp).
Seasonal House
This room is special because it doesn't focus on just one plant family. Instead, the plants here are completely changed six times a year! You might see poinsettias, mums, azaleas, hydrangeas, or fuchsias, depending on when you visit.
Palm House
The palm family, called Arecaceae, has about 2,500 species. Most palms grow in warm, tropical, and subtropical areas. Some interesting palms here include the Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei). A Sago Palm (Cycas revoluta), which isn't a true palm but looks like one, was about 80 years old in 2009! Besides palms, you'll find bananas (Musa), Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia), Anthurium, and ginger (Zingiberaceae) plants.
The conservatory's orchid collection is also in the Palm House. It started with a gift in 1921. Orchids are a huge family of flowering plants with over 20,000 species. The conservatory has many different kinds, including Bulbophyllum, Epidendrum, Dendrobium, Cattleya, and Phalaenopsis. Some orchids here were even saved from being illegally traded!
Cacti and Succulent House
Cacti are plants from the Cactaceae family, and they are originally from the Americas. All cacti are succulents. Succulents are plants that can store water in their leaves, stems, or roots, helping them live in dry places. But remember, not all succulents are cacti! This collection includes cacti like Opuntia, and other succulents like Pachypodium, Haworthia, Agave, Aloe, and Euphorbia. One of the oldest plants in the conservatory is a Jade Tree (Crassula argentea), which grew from a small piece taken in 1916.
Art in the Conservatory
You can also find beautiful art and sculptures inside the conservatory. The fancy glass window above the main entrance is from when the building first opened in 1912. Other green glass artworks were added later, making the entrance even more colorful. In the bromeliad house, there's a cool iron display tree made by local artists that holds many Tillandsia plants.
Visiting the Conservatory
More than 150,000 people visit the Conservatory every year! It's open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 AM to 4 PM. You can even take tours with special guides called docents. They can tell you all about the plants, the building's history, and how the conservatory works.
A Look Back in Time
In 1878, the City of Seattle bought the land for what is now Volunteer Park. It was first called City Park but was renamed Volunteer Park in 1901 to honor soldiers from the Spanish–American War. The park was designed by the famous Olmsted Brothers firm.
The conservatory was one of the first things built in the park. The city bought the design and parts for the greenhouse from a company in New York. City workers then put the building together, finishing it in 1912. Later, in 1922, more greenhouses were added to help grow new plants.
By 1978, the conservatory's glass and frame were getting old. Strong winds even forced the building to close sometimes. People in the community worked hard to save and fix the conservatory. Because of their efforts, a non-profit group called the Friends of the Conservatory (FOC) was started in 1980. They helped restore the building between 1980 and 1985. In 2004, the FOC also successfully fought against a plan to charge a $5 entrance fee.
The conservatory has also seen some very rare events! In 2005, 2008, and 2014, a special plant called a corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum) bloomed. These huge plants are very rare and only bloom two or three times in their 40-year lives. The corpse flower that bloomed in 2008, nicknamed Waldo, grew to be almost 4 feet tall!
How the Conservatory Works
The Volunteer Park Conservatory is owned by the City of Seattle and managed by its Department of Parks and Recreation. It's also a special place where plants that have been taken from illegal trade are sent. This means the conservatory helps protect rare and endangered plants by giving them a safe home.
The Friends of the Conservatory (FOC) group helps a lot too. They give money and support for things like tours and plant education. They also help grow the orchid collection and buy new plants. The FOC helps organize fun events like open houses and plant sales. More than 100 volunteers give over 2,500 hours of their time each year to help the conservatory!
