A Walk in the Big Garden (S.C.B.G.)

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My next venture out was more of a surprise which was one of my friends (and guides) typical procedures. She would message me that she had found a new place to show me. She would have me meet her at a metro station before whisking me off on a new adventures. Unfortunately, some of her adventures did turn out badly, like entering a park as a major rainstorm started. I unfortunately had learned my lessons from Jinhua about how hard and long it would rain for and the fact that my cellphone/camera did not do well in the rain if I tried using it. This trip was one of the good ones if a little short on time for me to explore everything in the Southern China Botanical Gardens in Guangzhou. It size was as big (if not bigger than) Huanghuagang Park but not all the exhibits of flora were outside. The greenhouse likeConservatory of this garden was special as it presented you with plants from different regions of the world.



My time in China had been very odd seeing so many places that had greenery but, at the S.C.B.G., I discovered why many of the trees I had noticed in the cities were there. The Botanical Garden presented a wide variety of Anti-Pollution Plants which were the majority of the trees I spotted in my trip around Southern China. These plants would remove many of the sulfides (e.i.: sulfur dioxide), chlorine, and dust while releasing fresh air which relieves pollution damage to crops and people alike. I do believe this would also be beneficial to other plants and animals, such as pets, that live everywhere on the globe. Most of these plants are, unfortunately, more geared to thrive in warmer weather than can be found in the northern parts of our world. It is a wonderful ideal but not always easy for humanity to “ask help from” Mother Nature. From this massive section outside, we enter the Conservatory to witness not just the Rainforest which is typical in this sub-tropical region of Southern China.



This Conservatory is not like the one for rare Chinese plants in Huanghuagang Park which grow naturally outside with much less tending needs. The Southern China Botanical Garden Conservatory is all built in 4 controlled greenhouses that regulate all the aspects to make the plants remain healthy and grow as they would in their natural environment. It gives you the dry heat of the desert to walk through as easily as walking through the cold environment of Northern Canada (minus the snow and ice). It was very special for me to see plants I knew on sight from the areas around my hometown. The last two are the water plants that can only grow in wetlands or directly in water, and finally you find the “normal” leafy trees and bushes. It found them all entertaining especially the “trip” back to the freezing temperatures of Canada for a short walk.



Within each of the Conservatories, you see the more minor separations between the living environment for each biosphere presented. The most extensive was the Rainforest which is easier to maintain in this sub-tropical area of the globe but they did attempt it for each. Within the tropical rainforest, you find a section that is the most unique where they present to you “fantastic plants” which are real plants that do not seem possible. They are the rare plants often alluded to in many mythical stories or early unbelievable reports from explorers when discovering the world around us was a new and often dangerous concept. I thought about all those ancient misinterpretations as I looked at many plants that seemed unreal in the modern world. I present to you the five sections and please enjoy walking through the pictures that follow my path through this Garden. It was a full day of walking which ended with my returning “home” to the hotel to sleep a full night.

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