This week horticulture staff are begining to remove all the leaves from next spring’s hydrangea crop. You may be wondering why we would remove all the leaves from perfectly healthy plants. Hydrangea plants need to undergo a dormancy in order to flower. Outside, they would go dormant in the winter when temperatures drop. In the…
Reacquaint Yourself with a Distant Cousin at Como
Orangutan Awareness Weekend November 13 & 14! Orangutans are considered one of the closest living relatives to humans, sharing 97 percent of the same DNA, yet experts predict wild orangutans could become extinct as natural populations in ten to twenty years. On November 13 & 14, find out how to help these magnificent animals during Como…
Good Question! How do zoo animals sleep at night?
WCCO-TV was out last night to do a fun story on zoo animal sleeping habits. Check it out!
Planning Annuals
This is the time of year for raking leaves, cleaning up garden beds, and believe it or not, planning and ordering our plants for next year. Right now our outside gardening staff is hard at work, planning, designing planters and beds, and picking out fun and exciting plants for next years displays. We aquire many…
Marjorie McNeely Conservatory Celebrates 95th Anniversary
Flowers Will Be Given to First 95 Visitors On November 7! The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory opened it doors to the public as the Como Park Conservatory on Sunday, November 7, 1915. Exactly 95 years later, in celebration of the anniversary, the first 95 visitors on Sunday, November 7, 2010 will receive a flower direct from…
Tune In To The Tundra – LIVE!
The annual polar bear migration is underway in Churchill, Manitoba. You’re invited to join Polar Bears International LIVE to meet and talk with world-renowned scientists during their exclusive webcasts from the tundra in October and November. Check out Tundra Connections 2010 for the program schedule, viewing information, and complete list of panelists. It’s a line-up…
MMC Awarded Grant From MAOC!
The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory recently was awarded a 0 grant from the Mid-America Orchid Congress (MAOC). The receipt of this grant is based on our active efforts to promote orchid conservation and awareness. The classes, talks, and displays we offer provide examples of primarily neo-tropical (Central and South American) specimens. Our weekly Gardener Talks on…
Day #9 on the Tundra With Zookeeper Sara **WARNING** A bit graphic!
Sara, one of our zoo keepers, is in the Arctic right now with Polar Bears International. She has been sending me great, quick reports & pictures. This is from day 9: "Once in a lifetime viewing today, we saw a male polar bear eating a seal carcass on the shores of the Hudson Bay. Three…
Zoo Keeper reports & pictures from the Arctic
Sara, one of our zoo keepers, is in the Arctic right now with Polar Bears International. She has been sending me great, quick reports & pictures I want to share. These are from Friday – Sunday: Day 5The bears hunkered down today in day beds they made in the kelp. One guy took a short…
Our Teen on the Tundra’s Final Blog Entry
10/16/10 Today is my last day on this amazing and life-changing trip. Its extremely hard to have to say goodbye to all the wonderful friends I’ve made and to the tundra that has been my home for the last week. We’re flying out of Churchill to Winnipeg, and then back to our own states, territories,…
Day #5-Amazing Photos & Stories from Kathryn, our Arctic Ambassador
10/14/10 Inspirational! Unbelievable! Life-changing! These are only a few words to describe how incredible today was! Waking up in the morning in my small,warm bunk was very nice, but the huge gust of arctic wind I had to walk through to get to the dinning cart, was not! Still, the excitement of loading the tundra…
The Fall Leaves are Falling
If you haven’t already noticed, the leaves are changing into their beautiful fall colors, and many have already fallen to the ground. Do you know why the leaves change color in the fall? There are a couple of things happening as the days shorten, and the fall nights get cooler. The production of the large…
Fall Flower Show Featured on Fox-9 With Dale K.
Saving Echeveria
This time of year many of our plants outside are either being cut back to the ground for winter, or some tender, non-hardy plants are taken inside to be saved for next year. One example of a plant we save is our Echeveria. Echevaria is a large genus of succulents with many drought tolerant species….
Day #4 on the Tundra with Kathryn, our Arctic Explorer!
10/13/10 Today was a bright an early morning for all of u as we loaded all our belongings onto a bus as we left our PBI houses in Churchill. We were on our way to our new home for the next three days; The Tundra Buggie Lodge! The lodge is a bunch of tundra biggies…
