Photo by Wikipedia User NoahElhardt
“Beauty is a savage garden.”
– Anne Rice, The Vampire Lestat
Last month we were excited to get an order from the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers in preparation of the opening of their exhibit entitled, “CHOMP: They Came From the Swamp.” The exhibit features all kinds of carnivorous plants and is designed to give visitors a “bugs-eye view.” If you go, stop by the gift shop to see Marty’s collection of Savage Garden Jewelry.
The Conservatory’s website notes that CHOMP was set up in collaboration with California Carnivores, a Sebastopol based carnivorous plant nursery. Visiting the nursery makes a fun day trip for adults and kids alike. World’s Rare Plants, in Half Moon Bay is yet another great place to experience carnivorous plants. Their greenhouse is surreal; stuffed to the “skylights” with incredible, bizarre, and awesome plants. If you go, expect to bring some hungry plant-pets home!
What is it about carnivorous plants that so fully captures our attention? Certainly the forms themselves are beautiful: sinuous curves, translucent cells, wicked fangs. There is a mystic surrounding these plants; the scientific discovery of the bizarre combined with imagined adventures to exotic and dangerous lands. Carnivorous plants are an unnerving morph of both animal and plant. Venus flytraps have jaws, pitcher plants have mouths, sundews have eyes.
Have carnivorous plants captured your imagination? We’d love to hear from you so chime in with your comments and check out our Savage Garden Jewelry Page!
Photo by Tumblr User StickyTraps