Conservatory Tulips – Como Park Zoo, MN

When I started my migration vacation to Minnesota, the tulips in the Netherlands were just starting to bloom.

I received pictures from the hubby that even more in the back garden are showing colors.

I had on my “things to see” list this vacation Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. I had recently seen a blog by Linda Staats Photography of her recent trip to the Conservatory where she photographed tulips. Now, I couldn’t put off my visit any longer. Must see tulips!

I headed out of my rented cabin located on Big Marine Lake towards St Paul one early morning this week. The best time to photograph tulips are before the heat of the day.

I couldn’t believe that there was a long line waiting to enter at 10 am. Then it struck me that it is Spring break for several school districts in Minnesota. Families were visiting the zoo. Would I be lucky enough to have the conservatory to myself?

I would not! A perfect place for older adults to escape the noise of small children. It was crowed with photographic crazy seniors all elbowing each other to get the best pictures of sunken garden.

This reminded me of the extremely full paths at the Keukenhof during peak tulip bloom. Only on a much smaller scale.

Yes, I elbowed my way through the crowd and captured what I had come to observe, tulips. Avoiding the dirty looks of several passive aggressive Minnesotan seniors as I quickly proceeded with a smile.

Using both my HP camera and my cell phone camera to capture images. Sadly only my cell phone images are available for this post due to cable issues. The joys of travel, storage units and who knows what darn box that cable is in.

Violets in the sunken garden.

As I exited the sunken garden I strolled through the other areas of the conservatory finding the humidity changing my hair from straight to curly within minutes.

The huge palms and banana trees reach to the roof of the Conservatory and makes the entire place feel like the jungle areas where most of these plants originally existed.

The ferns and bromeliads were wonderfully exhibited on the sides of walls.

The conservatory also contains a Japanese themed area. On exhibit was bonsai azaleas with accent plants of tiny hosta.

The conservatory has a nice store where you can purchase the worn out tulips that they pull from the sunken garden.

I enjoyed this visit to the Como Park Zoo.

I would recommend this free admission conservatory if you are visiting the St Paul/Minneapolis area.

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