Succulents inside the colossal Flower Dome
The Flower Dome is one of two cooled conservatories (or glasshouses) within the complex of Gardens by the Bay and it houses a collection of plants from temperate regions of the world. This conservatory is climate controlled, with a cool-dry atmosphere while the other one, the Cloud Forest Dome has a cool-moist one (more about this conservatory in an upcoming post. The Flower Dome itself is colossal, actually both of them are and I will have to feature them in segments as well as a general overview of each of them.
Kalanchoe tomentosa
So back now to the Flower Dome, one of the areas in there is a Succulent Garden, presented in a way that they look like an 'Under the Sea' scape, like a coral reef if you may. Whilst the presentation is good as such, and rather unique, it doesn't really hit you as being under the sea as the succulents are very blue and gray. As far as I'm aware of a coral reef has a broader color palette than that....
Under a blue and gray sea....
Coral reef looking or not, the presentation is undeniably beautiful and they have some very beautiful specimens in there that will excite fans of cacti, succulents, and other xerophytic plants. But if you're not then the area is still a wonderful sight to behold.
I will let the photos do most of the talking and this post is certainly going to be very photo intensive. But before I proceed even more I'd like to point out that the conservatories, despite having gorgeous and varied specimens, are poorly/sparsely labelled. Something that they ought to address if they want to up their game of being a more serious botanical institution. I will identify the ones I recognize myself but for those unlabelled and you know what they are feel free to add to your comment.
Or just enjoy the look of them anyway, labelled or not :)
Agave macroacantha
Another shot in perspective with the ceiling of the dome
Hehe!! And it's labelled too!
A reminder why I love Yucca rostrata (in a row, middle of photo)
Spots of yellow in a sea of blue - Faucaria tuberculosa
A spot of sculpture here and there adds to the contrast
Echeveria runyonii 'Topsy Turvy'
The clumps of aloes, aeoniums and sanseverias along the blue gravel looked great
Agave ferdinandi-regis
Agave victoriae-reginae
Agave lophantha and Echeveria runyonii 'Topsy Turvy'
It'll be nicer once the Aloe plicatilis gets even bigger
A nice and simple arrangement in a container!
A variegated Agave attenuata
Yay it's labelled! Agave celsii 'Nova'
Dyckias were represented too
Agave 'Blue Glow'
A familiar face - Agave bracteosa
The agaves on both sides are Agave parryi var. truncata
As the planting is new some bigger specimens are still supported
Some Puyas were there too, like this one...
Agave pachycentra
So there you go, this area is a succulent treat! And to think this is just one area! More sections of this conservatory to follow soon....
Mark :-)
