The Weather Outside Is Frightful
But Inside Milwaukee’s Domes, It’s Delightful
by Kris Babe
An orchid peeks out as we stand before a
small but mesmerizing waterfall. Tropical birds flutter and chirp
overhead. A clump of bamboo stretches toward the sun. The air is moist
and fragrant. Never mind that it’s February—we’re in the rainforest.
Milwaukee’s rainforest, that is. Or actually, the Tropical Dome of the
Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory, affectionately known as the Domes.
The
Domes’ three beehive-shaped greenhouses are so tall—85 feet high—they
almost make you forget you’re indoors. Each one houses a microcosm of a
different climate, and though it’s winter, there are blooms in each.
In
the Arid Dome, a stalk topped with hyacinth-like blooms rises from the
center of an aloe plant that looks more like Medusa’s twisting hair
than the aloe in our garden window at home. In fact, many of the Arid
Dome’s plants have a mythic quality—gnarled trees, serrated reeds,
cacti shrouded in white wool. The plant’s names almost beg to be part
of an exotic tale: Crown of Thorns, Dragon Tree, Living Stones. Like
any real desert, the arid dome has an oasis surrounded by date palms.
It also has a dormant season—roughly late fall through early spring in
Wisconsin—that prompts many plants to turn brown and look dead. But
when warmth and sun returns, the plants “revive.”
Displays in
the Arid and Tropical domes are permanent, housing plants important to
the agriculture of their climates. In the Arid Dome, for instance, you
can see seven varieties of chilies, while the Tropical Dome is home to
star fruit, avocados, bananas, cardamom, cocoa, guava, black pepper,
and vanilla. These two domes have paved walkways that are easy to
navigate, even with a stroller and a three-year-old eager to dash from
wonder to wonder.
Five themed shows take shape each year in
the third dome, which is devoted to floral exhibits. Past shows have
included Miss Spider’s Garden, School Days, and This Land Is Your Land.
An annual winter holiday display is followed by a train show, the most
popular show of the year, according to botanist Wayne Majerowski, the
Domes’ operations manager. The trains are G scale, or garden scale,
about four times bigger than the trains used in most basement layouts,
and wind through a landscape of azaleas, small trees, waterways, and
bridges.
Because this dome’s geography is always changing, the
paths here are made from groomed gravel and mulch. They’re still
relatively easy to negotiate, though we had to put a little more muscle
into pushing the stroller. This dome is typically closed for two weeks
between shows; the other domes are open 365 days a year.
Visitors
to the Domes don’t need a particular interest in the plants, says
Majerowski. Many guests “just like to walk around together, or sit on
one of the benches and talk.” Indoor walkways between the domes feature
photographs and history of the previous conservatory at Mitchell Park
and of construction of the Domes. Benches in each dome, and along the
walkways that connect them, make this a tempting spot to sit back and
relax for a while, even in the middle of a snowstorm.
If You Go:
Mitchell
Park Horticultural Conservatory is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Admission
is $5 for adults, $3.50 for seniors and children 6-17, and free for
ages 5 and under. Milwaukee County residents get in free on Mondays
between 9 and 11:30 a.m., excluding major holidays. 524 S. Layton
Blvd., Milwaukee; (414) 649-9800,
county.milwaukee.gov/MitchellParkConserva10116.htm.