Visiting the Amazon Spheres

On June 2, my husband, son and I were able to visit the Amazon Spheres in Downtown Seattle. It was quite the experience! The Spheres are only open to visitors two Saturdays a month and a reservation is needed, however, it is a totally free experience, which is hard to come by anywhere these days. The Understory can be viewed at any time and is an example to all of how an urban office space could be created.

Regarding the design of the spheres and plant collection, this from their website:

“An indoor garden from the start, The Spheres were first envisioned as a curved glass building filled with plants and tall trees. During early planning, the design team studied the form and function of several sphere-like conservatories around the world, including the UK’s Kew Gardens, the Mitchell Park Conservatory in Milwaukee, WI, and La Biosfera in Genoa, Italy. Eventually, three distinct buildings emerged, and their shape and geometry evolved over the course of the design process.”

Image Credit: Seattle Spheres

“One driving philosophy behind the plant collection was the concept that The Spheres should feel like “year five on day one.” In light of this principle, the team sourced plants from botanical gardens, private growers, and universities all over the world years before The Spheres opened. These plants still grow in a greenhouse in Woodinville, WA to sustain The Spheres today. Plants regularly circulate between The Spheres and the greenhouses dependent on the season. The very first plant logged in The Spheres plant collection was a Mountain Cacao specimen. Also known as Herrania balaensis, this Ecuadorean cacao species produces pods that can be used to make a sweet and high quality chocolate.”

Image Credit: Seattle Spheres

The Plant Collection is impressive to stay the least and the way in which they framed plants to look like artwork is incredible.

By far, the living wall was one of my favorite displays in the garden as well as the bird’s nest and sun deck to lay an enjoy the heat of the sun when it is out in Seattle.

If you are visiting the Seattle area, I would highly recommend a visit to The Spheres to lavish in this modern architectural marvel, stunning plant collection and design , but remember you must make a reservation, but it is one of the only free things to do in downtown.

About P.S. I ♥ Peas

Ever since I was a child, I remember falling in love with flowers. My first flower memory was being intrigued by the blooms of Bleeding Heart (Dicentra). Love of nature and art led me into pursuing a degree in horticulture & landscape design. For 15+ years, I worked for different wholesale companies including Proven Winners, Spring Meadow Nursery (Proven Winners ColorChoice Flowering Shrubs) and Zelenka Nursery. Then in 2013, I started my own business Flora & Fauna Media, which specializes in public relations outreach from social media to media publications. Now, I am focusing on being a Stay-At-Home mom and my writing career. I garden on less than an acre of property near Seattle, Washington. Making the most of my space was extremely important to efficiency, which led to removing lots of grass. Now, our property is a sanctuary filled with fruits (blueberries, apples, strawberries, raspberries, cantaloupe, fig and huckleberries), vegetables (kale, beets, peas, tomatoes, squash, potatoes, cardoon, zucchini, green beans, peppers, tomatillos and sorrel) and herbs (rosemary, chives, thyme, mint, oregano, lemon verbena, pineapple sage and sage). Growing our own food is an important mission to me and with a young child teaching is valuable knowledge to pass down generation after generation . If you teach a man to garden, he will eat for life! My husband and I love to cook together. We find new recipes and try them weekly. Wildcrafting has become a fun additional to this pastime. Harvesting stinging nettles or dandelions and making them into something that is edible and delicious is so rewarding.

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