• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • The Gardenangelists Podcast
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

A Tale of Two Greenhouses

December 11, 2007 By Carol Michel 12 Comments

Real, fake, real.

That’s the answer to yesterday’s quiz about poinsettias. I should have trimmed those little frays on the edges of the petals on the fake one, but I was too lazy to do that.

And what about those comments that I might be trying to play a trick or two with my quiz? No tricks! It’s the holidays. I’m trying to be good so that Santa will remove me from the bad list and put me on the good list!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday was gloomy and cloudy and occasionally it rained. I was tired of shopping so it was a good day to go visit a greenhouse or two, which is where I took pictures of the real poinsettias.

One of the greenhouses I visited was at White River Gardens by the Indianapolis Zoo.

This is the view from the greenhouse balcony, overlooking the actual White River Gardens. You can see that most of the snow from the past week is gone and we are left with mud.

Mud is better than ice, any day.

For the holidays, they can’t just put poinsettias in the greenhouse and call it a day, they have to also have model trains.In fact, they have mostly model trains, so if that’s what you want to see, this is a good place to go.

If you want to see more poinsettias, I recommend you go to the Garfield Park Conservatory. (The one in Indianapolis, not Chicago).

They had a few trains, but many more poinsettias.And the greenhouse is full of tropical plants, including blooming orchids and other tropical flowers. Here you can smell that “earthy smell with perhaps a hint of tropical blooms” that makes me, and many other gardeners, happy.

Another reason to choose Garfield Park? Just around that bend, all set up to talk to the kids of all ages, was Santa Claus himself. If this greenhouse is good enough for Santa, it is plenty good enough for me.

There were already some kids talking to him when I was there, so I didn’t stay to give him my list. I’ll guess I’ll have to mail him a letter.

Dear Santa,
I am trying to be good, but you know how hard that can be. If you have some time after delivering all those toys to the little boys and girls, perhaps you could swing by May Dreams Gardens and drop a few items down the chimney for me? There are a couple of gardening books I’d like and a new hand digging tool. And if you see a hoe I might like, of course I wouldn’t turn it down. Oh, and while I’m asking, is it too much trouble to bring me a nice little greenhouse, maybe with some orchids in it?
Your gardening friend,
Carol

P.S. If you can swing it, Mary and David in North Carolina would both like some rain!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: holidays, indoor gardening

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Julie says

    December 11, 2007 at 2:53 am

    Oh…I was all wrong on the poinsettias!!! Ha ha ha.
    Nice pics of gardens in your area…I love the trains in the poinsettias! Hope Santa brings you all your wishes!

    Reply
  2. Tired Soles says

    December 11, 2007 at 3:39 am

    HA! I knew it!!! 🙂 I can always tell a fake, even if it’s a good fake!

    Santa came to my place early. Of course it helps to have a little blackmail on santa…

    Reply
  3. growingagardenindavis says

    December 11, 2007 at 4:15 am

    Good grief, when you say greenhouse you’re talking about something I don’t understand…balconies? trains? brick paths? I am beyond impressed…I expected rows of benches with plants, maybe 12 foot ceilings…nothing like this! Thanks for the eye opener! I hope Santa is good to you!

    Reply
  4. Annie in Austin says

    December 11, 2007 at 4:44 am

    Those in charge at the municipal greenhouses are pretty smart – like Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act, they need to “get some butts in the seats”, and miniature trains will do that.

    If you need any character references to persuade Santa you’ve been good, your blogfans will be happy to provide them, Carol!

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

    Reply
  5. Anonymous says

    December 11, 2007 at 7:10 am

    Chigiy at Gardener’s Anonymous said:
    You fooled me.
    I like your Santa letter.
    Hoe, Hoe, Hoe.
    Sorry,
    I couldn’t resist.

    Reply
  6. Anonymous says

    December 11, 2007 at 9:13 am

    Santa may just have a few surprises in store for May Dreams Gardens!

    Reply
  7. Frances, says

    December 11, 2007 at 11:11 am

    Thanks for a delightful post. It brought a smile to this Scrooge’s face. Thanks for all your posts, actually.

    Frances at Faire Garden

    Reply
  8. Lisa at Greenbow says

    December 11, 2007 at 12:05 pm

    Oh Carol this Poinsetta Quiz was such fun. You would have to be an awfully bad girl for Santa to take you off the Good List. You bring such joy to us in Blogger Land that I am sure Santa would over look any little indiscretion.

    I almost can’t believe that you actually wrote out loud that you were “tired of shopping”. tee hee
    How can that be??

    Loved the tour of the conservatory. I could almost smell the greenhouse.

    Reply
  9. Angela @ Cottage Magpie says

    December 11, 2007 at 8:47 pm

    Does Santa bring greenhouses? If so, I’m going to have to sit down and write a letter of my own! I’m woefully behind on my correspondence anyway. 🙂 Lovely pictures!
    ~Angela 🙂

    Reply
  10. Mr. McGregor's Daughter says

    December 12, 2007 at 1:15 am

    Carol, it wasn’t the frayed edge that gave away the fake 1 for me, it was the weave of the fabric (like I wrote, I cheated by enlarging). Even the silk 1s look good, so there’s no shame in having them where real 1s would be struggling. If you’re tired of shopping, then you must be getting things done. So far I’ve been to 1store to buy a Christmas present to give to someone (I picked up a present for my parents to give to my daughter, but that doesn’t count). So you must be doing better than I am.

    Reply
  11. Carol Michel says

    December 12, 2007 at 2:06 am

    Julie… Missed them all? The real ones do look almost too good to be real.

    Tired Soles… You black-mailed Santa? Is that allowed?

    Leslie… I guess I should have called these conservatories…

    Annie in Austin… Thanks, I’ll let you know if I need some character witnesses.

    Chigiy… What gardener can resist a Hoe Hoe Hoe at Christmas time?

    Sister with the Homestead… Surprises? The gardener here loves surprises!

    Frances… You’re welcome. What a nice comment!

    Lisa at Greenbow… I’m not much of a shopper so it doesn’t take long for me to tire of it. Thanks for the kinds words!

    Cottage Magpie… I don’t know if Santa brings greenhouses or not, but it sure doesn’t hurt to ask!

    Mr. McGregor’s Daughter… I still have presents to buy, I’m just tired of shopping!

    Carol, May Dreams Gardens

    Reply
  12. David says

    December 22, 2007 at 2:57 am

    Thanks for putting in a good word for us, Carol. Merry Christmas!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,053)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT