Washington Park Botanical Garden Conservatory is open to the public 363 days a year - closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The Conservatory is arranged in a series of display islands which represent the native tropical flora of different continents of the world.

Date palms, bulbs, Dracaenas and Birds-of-Paradise typify the vegetation of the vast African continent of savannah's, deserts and rain forests.

Changing educational displays are featured in the Conservatory.

Natural pest control is practiced at the Washington Park Botanical Garden. Birds, tree frogs and lizards consume many insect pests and entertain the Conservatory visitors as well.

Asian plants include many well-known food species like the banana, citrus fruits, sugar cane, coconut and bamboo.

The New World is a land of lush, dark rain forests, towering mountain ranges and enormous rivers. Vines and lianas climb tall buttress-rooted trees to canopies above. Many familiar houseplants like Philodendrons, Peperomias and Peace Lilies are native to this land.

Epiphytic or "air plants" are found in the New World. This Bromeliad encrusted crane stands in a goldfish pond amidst Pineapple, Vanilla Orchid and other epiphytic plants.

The sunny Mediterranean is home to herbs and plants with aromatic foliage. Waxy leaves and thick hairs protect against water loss in the dry climate and give many plants a bluish or silver gray appearance.

The "land down under" often brings to mind large, dry regions covered with frolicking kangaroos. The islands of Australia and New Zealand also have humid rain forests. Palms, ferns and manyh species of Eucalyptus inhabit the region. Although the islands are geographically close to each other, plants species are widely different.

The Conservatory at the Washington Park Botanical Gardens is a place of leisure and learning.