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| Begonia |
On Saturday,
June 20th, 5 members and 1 guest attended the monthly Westmont
Garden Club meeting.
The club had
arranged to have a docent led tour of the begonia greenhouse at the Fort Worth
Botanical Gardens.
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| Debbie park employee and tour guide |
We arrived at
the entrance at 10:00 to meet our tour guide Debbie. We climbed onto a shuttle and Debbie drove us
around the gardens.
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| Our tour shuttle |
The greenhouses are located off the visitor’s path and we
got to see parts of the gardens that most visitors do not get to see.
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| War Memorial |
The first
greenhouse that Debbie stopped at was full of beautiful lush ferns of many
types. Also in the greenhouse were
magnificent blooming orchids in a variety of colors and sizes.
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| Ferns |
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| Ferns |
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| Ferns |
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| Ferns |
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| Orchid |
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| Orchid |
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| Orchid |
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| Orchid |
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| Beautiful Purple Orchid |
After enjoying the orchids and ferns, it was
time to make tracks to the begonia greenhouse.
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| Begonia Greenhouse |
Debbie told
us that there are over 1,600 species of begonias. However, none are native to North America. The majority of begonias come from
Brazil. Other begonias come from parts
of Mexico, South and Central America, China, Japan, Pakistan and The Himalayas and even Africa.
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| Begonia Greenhouse |
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| Begonia Greenhouse |
Begonias are
classified into eight major types:
·
Cane-like
·
Shrub-like
·
Tuberous
·
Rhizomatous
·
Semperflorens
·
Rex
·
Trailing-scandent
·
Thick-stemmed
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| Types of Begonias |
Some of the begonias on display in the greenhouse:
Several
members of the garden club purchased potted begonias to take with them for
their personal gardens and enjoyment.
Debbie
shared with the group that several members of other garden clubs volunteer in
taking care of the greenhouses and the plants.
Additionally, a few specialize in growing hybrid begonias.
The Fort
Worth Botanical Garden has plant sales twice a year. The first plant sale is the 2nd week of April and
the second sell is the 2nd week of October.
We all agreed that this had been a fun,
interesting and learning adventure.
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| Beautiful Begonia Bloom |
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