GROWING UP, I LOVED the mystery board game Clue. Determine the murderer, weapon and mansion room in which the crime was committed and you win the game.
Simple? Not necessarily. The game requires a great deal of concentration, plotting and even some deception.
While Clue includes a cast of characters with interesting names like Colonel Mustard and Mrs. Peacock, what most intrigues me are the rooms. Imagine a home with a lounge, a billiard room and a conservatory. Yes, a conservatory, smaller in scale than the one I toured Sunday afternoon at Como Park.
The Mzarjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory, with its winding paths, nooks and extensive foliage, would present the perfect setting for a St. Paul-based mystery. In the shrouded mist of the Fern Room, I can almost imagine a shadowy figure lurking. In the Palm Dome, I can envision a chase. Inside the Sunken Garden, I can picture a stand-off on opposite ends of the garden.
Ah, yes, my imagination appears to be in overdrive. Blame winter madness. Blame the need to escape.
And so we shall…
Follow this path through the North Garden.
Stop to enjoy the orchids, these in the Palm Dome.
Appreciate leaves as big as an elephant’s ears.
Admire the art, including this statue in a Palm Dome fountain.
Observe a member of the Metro Sketchers creating art in the Sunken Garden.
Photograph the cameraman filming the artist’s work.
Admire the simplistic beauty of orchids.
Notice the contrast of a bonsai tree against windows, knowing only glass separates the plant from a snowy landscape.
Mention to your daughter and son-in-law how nice one of these bonsai trees would look on a window ledge in their apartment.
Because you are so smitten by these mini trees, consider for a moment how you might smuggle one out of the conservatory. You realize this is an impossibility given the crowd, the staffing and that you left your winter coat in the car.
Pretend you are aboard a ship in a fleet transporting exotic spices.
Banish the temptation to pick a juicy orange. (Where’s that tall son-in-law?)
If only you could snip a few blooms to take home, to carry you through the next few months. Until spring…
FYI: To read my first post from Como Park Conservatory, click here.
Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
And “Clue” was the game that always came to my mind when, as a child, I would wander those glorious paths, closing my eyes to breath in the perfume of some heavenly place or to spy the largest of the gold fish lurking in the ponds.
We think alike. Excellent.
!!;-p
Lovely—my favorite is the bonsai tree against the backdrop of the window. The window today shows more snow but manageable—I “hear” we are going to warm up this weekend which is going to be very welcome.
About three inches of snow here overnight. Randy just finished blowing our driveway and walk and that of our neighbors. I need to follow with clean-up in the areas he cannot blow open. Warmth? Yes.
Looks like that is about what we got, too. Going out when it warms up a bit to do the clean up. The sun is trying to come out so that helps!
I’m waiting a bit, too, hoping for more warmth to shovel.
Love the orchids. Thanks for warming me up with a smile for the second day in a row. 😻
You are welcome. The orchids were gorgeous.
I am with you – love a green room or sun room or something to that nature in my home:) Loving your captures and loving that the adventure continues. Happy Hump Day!
Every home needs plants, in my opinion.
Today’s post ends the conservatory tour.
I have a few plants in the house. The insect world in the high desert is unique, so do not want to attract certain things into the house by introducing certain plants or too many plants in the house. I truly enjoyed the conservatory tour and I am ready for whatever adventure you get up to next!
Keeping bugs out of the house sounds like a good plan.
How fun. I’d be drawing it all too, if I could. You have reminded me that warm weather does exist. Praise the Lord.
I actually got overheated shoveling snow today. So off came the cap and the wool coat was unbuttoned.
Colin is gone for a few days and this south wind is doing horrible things and I don’t know how to use the snowblower so I guess I’ll get my workout with a shovel this afternoon…but it’s so windy I’m not sure that it will help!!
Hmmmmm, a shovel against the prairie wind. I think you are bound to lose that battle.
Ah, what fun and what beauty! Here I am only a couple of miles from the Conservatory and I haven’t been in there for months and months. Glad you got a chance to visit it.
If I was only a few miles away, I would have been there several times already this winter. This was my first visit there in probably close to 40 years. Crazy.
I enjoyed some more of your tour through the conservatory. I really liked the path through the north garden photo. It almost looks like you’re really outside. Did you just feel like you were in Heaven Audrey, I bet the warmth and the flowers took you right to summer 🙂
Interesting as I’ve always imagined heaven to be such, with lush greenery and warmth. Not paths paved of gold. But I’ll rejoice in whatever God has prepared for me.
I loved that game too. It was my favourite! I loved becoming a character and trying to solve the murder mystery. (Hated being the murderer!) xx
Now that I’m older, I prefer more “social” games rather than ones which require me to think. Isn’t that interesting? Whenever I attend family game night at church, I say, “I’ll play a game where I don’t need to think and that doesn’t involve numbers.” And they all laugh. But I am absolutely serious.