Saturday afternoon found me at the Morris Arboretum, just outside of Philadelphia. The place was all but deserted, but I came for one reason: The Dorrance H. Hamilton Fernery. Built in 1899, it is the only remaining freestanding Victorian fernery in North America. The unique glass roof eventually fell into serious disrepair and was replaced in the 1950's with a conventional sloping roof, but in 1994 the fernery roof was finally restored to its original curvilinear glory. Its gracious form is set into the sloping hillside like a green gem in a belly dancer's navel. With the dramatic sunset light raking across the hill, I was compelled to peer into the glass canopy, whose condensation-obscured view tantalizingly hinted at the lush vegetation within.
( Come inside... )
~W