Hot date with a palm dome

Here’s my solution to those low-down, no-good, mid-winter, gardening-deprived blues. One of them, anyway. I go to a place where I’m hit with a warm wave of humidity and fragrance as soon as I walk through the doors. In the middle of a long-term renovation in which a coherent globe-circumnavigation display will one day be completed, the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens is the best local winter destination I can think of.

Here I am (just visited this afternoon) with some fronds of something or other. See how happy I am? And they even have parties here, sometimes with tropical drinks. On a decent day (not too windy) I wouldn’t demur at walking around the park. There’s something to be said for winter scenery, in moderation.

Otherwise, I would suggest regular visits to the local one of these for winter-challenged Northern gardeners. Actually, even a visit to a local nursery that carries a wide selection of indoor plants—i.e., has a big greenhouse—can provide relief. If I lived in Northeastern CT, you couldn’t keep me away from Logee’s, but we have some decent places around here. So that’s how I manage.