April in Minnesota

Spring in Minnesota is often a tumultuous time when it comes to the weather. Friday marked April’s third day with temps hovering right around freezing. Clouds hovered low and dropped rain onto most of the midwest, Minneapolis included. Here in the Twin Cities, the Twins Home Opener was marred by both the weather and a power outage. This weather continued through Saturday which also dropped some blowing snow as I made my way around the city. The snow didn’t stick, but it proved the False Spring is a real season here. That is why I’m glad that places like the Como Zoo and Conservatory exist.

With the greenhouse walls of the Sunken Garden, a flower show inspired by the myths of Persephone. I usually try to arrive at Como right as it opens so I can have the garden to myself for a few minutes, but I wasn’t the only one craving warmer temperatures. It was crowded that Saturday mere moments after I took the above photograph. No matter, the daffodils were worth it.

I won’t lie. Having a cloudy day works to a photographer’s advantage. The sun is great, but is usually adds stark shadows that make photographing flowers difficult especially with brighter colors. It was the only positive of the weather on Saturday. The clouds gave me the opportunity to get good pics of brightly colored ranunculus which would have been made difficult if the sun had been out.

The orange and reds were complimented by yellow crocus. These small flowers are usually some of the earliest to break through the soil when spring arrives in Minnesota so I was glad to see the Conservatory making good use of them.

I smelled the hyacinth before I laid eyes on it. The fragrant flower is always one of my favorites and brightens my mood whenever I see it’s presence in the spring. This year, the gardeners chose pink hyacinth for this part of the Spring Flower Show.

Hellebore is a flower that I’ve not photographed before. If the Conservatory featured it before, I don’t remember it. The genus of flower is native to Europe so it likely isn’t in any of the outdoor gardens I frequent in the Twin Cities. They are beautiful, however, and I hope the Conservatory features more of them.

In an otherworldly addition to the garden, nigella offered whites and purples to the colorful show. This is another flower I’ve never seen in person. I could have spent all day just photographing these attention seeking buds.

After I was finished with the Sunken Garden – really, when the crowds became too much for my introverted personality to handle – I made my way back toward the entrance. I wasn’t ready to venture back out into the weather which had gone from intermittent snow to drizzling rain so I spent some time in the fern room. I usually don’t spend much time in there because its so humid, but it was worth it to delay being out in the cold for another half hour.

The conservatory also had a lot of orchids on display, more than usual. I think these are holdovers from the January Orchid Show that the conservatory puts on as part of St. Paul’s Winter Carnival. I missed it this year so I was happy to see my favorite genus of flower given pretty display.

Thanks for following along on my flower themed adventure. You can purchase prints of my photography at my Etsy Store. If you are in the Twin Cities, the current flower show in the Sunken Garden is a great one. Highly recommend.