The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory (commonly and locally known as the Belle Isle Conservatory) is a greenhouse and a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

located on Belle Isle, a island park located on the

Detroit River The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively referred to as Detro ...

within

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. While located near the Canada–United States border, the island is entirely within the U.S. The park itself consists of of preserved land for the conservatory and its botanical garden. Opened in 1904, the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory is the oldest continually-running conservatory in the United States. It is named for Anna Scripps Whitcomb, who left her collection of 600

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

to Detroit in 1955.

History and architecture

The Belle Isle Conservatory, along with the neighboring Belle Isle Aquarium, was designed by the noted firm of George D. Mason and Albert Kahn, and built between 1902 and 1904. Kahn modeled the building after architectural exhibitions and garden pavilions of the mid- to late-nineteenth century, most notably

The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around th ...

and the Palm House at

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its living collections include some of the ...

. P. 264. P. 21. Located in the center of the

Belle Isle Park Belle Isle Park, known simply as Belle Isle (), is a island park in Detroit, Michigan, developed in the late 19th century. It consists of Belle Isle, an island in the Detroit River, as well as several surrounding islets. The U.S.-Canada border ...

, the conservatory covers , with a lily pond on its north side and perennial gardens on the west; the gardens house the Levi L. Barbour Memorial Fountain, designed by sculptor Marshall Fredericks. The Conservatory building is divided into five distinct sections: the Palm house (inside the domed center), the Tropical house (South Wing), the Cactus house and Fernery (North Wing), and the Show house (East Wing). The main feature of the building is the high central dome, which houses

palm trees Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm ( ...

and other tropical plants. Horticultural building, Belle Isle, Michigan (64793)

The conservatory, originally known as the Horticultural Building, opened on August 18, 1904, and is currently "the oldest, continually operating conservatory in the United States." Soon after its opening, it became a popular attraction, reaching an annual average of 1.5 million visitors in the mid-1920s. In 1953, the original wooden frame of the central dome was replaced by one made of iron and aluminum; the operation cost circa $500,000. In April 1955

Anna Scripps Whitcomb Anna Scripps Whitcomb (March 5, 1866 – March 28, 1953) was an American philanthropist. She was the daughter of ''The Detroit News'' founder James E. Scripps. She was an avid gardener and art collector. After her husband died in 1930 she becam ...

gave her 600 orchids collection to the conservatory, which was therefore renamed in her honor on April 6, 1955. Many of these exotic orchids had been saved from Britain throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Because of that contribution, the conservatory became "the largest municipally owned orchid collection in the country."

Botany

The Palm house, maintained at 70 °F, is housed under the dome, and contains a variety of

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s and palms, including the Chinese fan palm (''

Livistona chinensis ''Livistona chinensis'', the Chinese fan palm or fountain palm, is a species of subtropical palm tree of east Asia. It is native to southern Japan, Taiwan, the Ryukyu Islands, southeastern China and Hainan. In Japan, two notable populations occ ...

''), the fishtail palm (''

Caryota ''Caryota'' is a genus of palm trees. They are often known as fishtail palms because of the shape of their leaves. There are about 13 species native to Asia ( China, India, Indonesia, etc.), northern Australia, and the South Pacific. One of ...

mitis''), the umbrella tree (''

Schefflera actinophylla ''Heptapleurum actinophyllum'' (formerly ''Schefflera actinophylla'') is a tree in the family Araliaceae. It is native to tropical rainforests and gallery forests in northern and north-eastern Queensland coasts and the Northern Territory of Austr ...

'') and the Canary Island date palm (''

Phoenix canariensis ''Phoenix canariensis'', the Canary Island date palm or pineapple palm, is a species of flowering plant in the palm family Arecaceae, native to the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco. It is a relative of ''Phoenix dactylifera'', the true ...

''). When a tree reaches the top of the dome it must be cut down, as they cannot be pruned to height. The Tropical house, 70 °F, contains fruiting plants and trees such as the common fig,

calamondin orange Calamansi (''Citrus'' × ''microcarpa''), also known as calamondin, Philippine lime, or Philippine lemon, is an economically important citrus hybrid predominantly cultivated in the Philippines. It is native to the Philippines, Borneo, Sumatra, ...

and bloodleaf banana, and tropical flowering plants such as the pink powderpuff ('' Calliandra brevipes'') and peace lily (''

Spathiphyllum ''Spathiphyllum'' is a genus of about 47 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas and southeastern Asia. Certain species of ''Spathiphyllum'' are commonly known as spath or pea ...

''). The Cactus house, 62 °F, is lined in

tufa Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits, which are known as travertin ...

rock and holds a variety of cacti and

succulents In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

, including jellybeans (), the silver dollar cactus (''

Opuntia robusta ''Opuntia robusta'', the wheel cactus, nopal tapon, or camuesa, is a species of cactus in the family Cactaceae. It is native and endemic to central and northern Mexico to within of the Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ...

''), "old man" cactus (''

Cephalocereus senilis ''Cephalocereus senilis'', the old man cactus, is a species of cactus native to Hidalgo and Veracruz in central Mexico. It is threatened in the wild, but widespread propagation and popularity in cultivation have reduced the demand on wild popul ...

'') and jade plant (''

Crassula ovata ''Crassula ovata'', commonly known as jade plant, lucky plant, money plant or money tree, is a succulent plant with small pink or white flowers that is native to the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa, and Mozambique; i ...

''). The Fernery is sunken to provide cooler conditions and more humidity.

Fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

s such as the alsophila can be found here, as well as a small waterfall located in the center. The Show house changes its display many times throughout the year and is also used for the conservatory's many flower shows and special events. The perennial gardens are located outside to the north of the vestibule.

Lily pond

The lily pond is located between the conservatory building and the Belle Isle Aquarium. It was not part of the original design, but constructed in 1936. The rocky walls were created with 200 tons of moss-covered limestone boulders that were brought from the construction of the Livingstone Channel in the

near

Amherstburg Amherstburg is a town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. In 1796, Fort Malden was established here, stimulating growth in the settlement. The fort has been designated as a National Historic Site. The town is ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. The pond is home to Japanese

koi or more specifically , are colored varieties of the Amur carp ('' Cyprinus rubrofuscus'') that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens. Koi is an informal name for the colored variants of ''C. rubrofuscus'' ke ...

that are maintained by volunteers and are held in the aquarium basement during winter.

Greenhouses

Located to the east of the conservatory building are 20 greenhouse structures. 15 of the structures are used to care for the orchid, bromeliad, cactus, amaryllis and tropical plant collections. Five of the greenhouses are used by the Golightly Career and Technical Center's Agriscience Program for high school students in the metro Detroit area. These greenhouses help train for post-graduation jobs as green's keepers,

florists Floristry is the production, commerce, and trade in flowers. It encompasses flower care and handling, floral design and arrangement, merchandising, production, display and flower delivery. Wholesale florists sell bulk flowers and related sup ...

, arborists, nursery owners and related fields. The first greenhouse was built on Belle Isle in 1903.

Non-profit involvement & volunteerism

The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory is opened to the public free of charge, and operates mostly on the budget designated by local and state Governments. However, Belle Isle has long history of support through private organizations and donors. Volunteerism plays an important role for all of Belle Isle. Specifically, four major volunteer organizations have been vital to the livelihood of the island park. Friends of Belle Isle, a non-profit grassroots

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

organization, was founded in 1972 and is dedicated to the upkeep and preservation of Belle Isle through cleaning and the ridding of invasive species on the island. In 1988, the Belle Isle Botanical Society began raising money for projects to improve the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory. The Belle Isle Botanical society offered many services to the conservatory including volunteer tour guides and gardeners, and was also involved in raising funds to maintain and support the conservatory operation through repairs, equipment, purchase of plant material, etc. In 2004, the Belle Isle Women's Committee was created and its first project was to upgrade Sunset Point. The non-profit Friends of the Belle Isle Aquarium was formed in 2005 with the goal of restoring Belle Isle's historic aquarium. In 2009, the four organizations put a plan in action to form a single organization that could pool all their efforts and ideas into a larger and more effective non-profit dedicated to improvement projects. Together, receiving assistance from the Cultural Alliance for Southeastern Michigan and the Michigan Nonprofit Association, they have joined forces to form a single all-volunteer organization named the

Belle Isle Conservancy The Belle Isle Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working to restore, preserve, protect and enhance Detroit's Belle Isle. History Four volunteer-based organizations had been largely response for volunteer efforts on Belle Isle. ...

The Kresge Foundation The Kresge Foundation is a philanthropic private foundation headquartered in Troy, Michigan, United States. The foundation works to expand opportunities in America's cities through grantmaking and investing in arts and culture, education, envir ...

, based in suburban Detroit, has played a key role in the merger. Kresge gave the four organizations $100,000, in 2009, and in 2010 another $100,000. Currently, there are five employees, one manager and a supervisor from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources that make up the

Floriculture Floriculture, or flower farming, is a branch of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for gardens and for floristry, comprising the floral industry. The development of new varieties by plant breeding is ...

Unit at the Belle Isle Conservatory. The staff members are responsible for caring for all the plants in the Conservatory and the surrounding formal gardens. The Conservatory relies on volunteers for all its additional needs and workers.

Gallery

File:Whitcomb Conservatory.jpg, Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory File:The Henry A. Johnson Memorial Gardens2013.JPG, The Henry A. Johnson Memorial Gardens File:Conservatory2013.JPG, Pathway through the Tropical house File:Show House Entrance.JPG, Entrance to the Show house File:Show Room2013.JPG, Show house (East Wing) File:Palm Tree Belle Isle2013.JPG, Palm Tree File:Ferns Belle isle2013.JPG, Ferns File:Belle isle - Crown of thorns.jpg, Example of an information plate at the Conservatory File:Belle Isle - Cactus.jpg, Cactus at the Conservatory File:Belle Isle - Flowers.jpg, Flowers in the Conservatory

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.belleisleconservancy.org/ Buildings and structures in Detroit Tourist attractions in Detroit

Botanical gardens in Michigan {{Commons cat, Botanical gardens in Michigan Michigan Botanical gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''bot ...

Greenhouses in Michigan Belle Isle Park (Michigan)