The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, often called the Belle Isle Conservatory, is a greenhouse and botanical garden located on Belle Isle. Belle Isle is a 982-acre island park on the Detroit River in Detroit, Michigan. The island is near the Canada–United States border but is completely inside the United States. The park includes 13 acres of land used for the conservatory and its botanical garden.

The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory opened in 1904 and is the oldest conservatory in the United States that has been operating without stopping. It is named after Anna Scripps Whitcomb, who gave her collection of 600 orchids to Detroit in 1955.

History and architecture

The Belle Isle Conservatory, along with the nearby Belle Isle Aquarium, was designed by the well-known company of George D. Mason and Albert Kahn. Construction took place from 1902 to 1904. Kahn created the building based on designs from mid- to late-nineteenth-century architectural exhibitions and garden pavilions, especially The Crystal Palace and the Palm House at Kew Gardens.

Situated in the middle of the 982-acre (397-hectare) Belle Isle Park, the conservatory spans 13 acres (5.3 hectares). A lily pond is located on its north side, and perennial gardens are on the west. These gardens include the Levi L. Barbour Memorial Fountain, created by sculptor Marshall Fredericks. The conservatory building is divided into five areas: the Palm House (inside the domed center), the Tropical House (South Wing), the Cactus House and Fernery (North Wing), and the Show House (East Wing). The most notable part of the building is the central dome, which is 85 feet (26 meters) tall and contains palm trees and other tropical plants.

Originally called the Horticultural Building, the conservatory opened on August 18, 1904. It is now "the oldest, continually operating conservatory in the United States." Soon after opening, it became a popular destination, drawing an average of 1.5 million visitors each year in the mid-1920s. In 1953, the wooden frame of the central dome was replaced with one made of iron and aluminum, costing about $500,000.

In April 1955, Anna Scripps Whitcomb donated her collection of 600 orchids to the conservatory. Because of this gift, the conservatory was renamed in her honor on April 6, 1955. Many of these orchids had been saved from Britain during World War II. This donation made the conservatory "the largest municipally owned orchid collection in the country."

Botany

The Palm house is kept at 70 °F and is located under a dome. It includes many tropical trees and palms, such as the Chinese fan palm (Livistona chinensis), the fishtail palm (Caryota mitis), the umbrella tree (Schefflera actinophylla), and the Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis). If a tree grows too tall, it must be removed because it cannot be pruned to a shorter height.

The Tropical house is also kept at 70 °F and contains fruiting plants and trees, such as the common fig, calamondin orange, and bloodleaf banana. It also includes tropical flowering plants, such as the pink powderpuff (Calliandra brevipes) and peace lily (Spathiphyllum).

The Cactus house is maintained at 62 °F and is covered with tufa rock. It holds various cacti and succulents, including jellybeans (Sedum pachyphyllum), the silver dollar cactus (Opuntia robusta), the "old man" cactus (Cephalocereus senilis), and the jade plant (Crassula ovata).

The Fernery is built lower than the surrounding area to create cooler and more humid conditions. Ferns like the alsophila grow here, along with a small waterfall in the center. The Show house changes its displays often throughout the year and is used for flower shows and special events. The perennial gardens are located outside, to the north of the vestibule.

The lily pond is between the conservatory building and the Belle Isle Aquarium. It was not part of the original design but was built in 1936. The rocky walls were made from 200 tons of moss-covered limestone boulders taken from the construction of the Livingstone Channel in the Detroit River near Amherstburg, Ontario. The pond is home to Japanese koi, which are cared for by volunteers and moved to the aquarium basement during winter.

To the east of the conservatory building are 20 greenhouses. Fifteen of these are used to care for orchid, bromeliad, cactus, amaryllis, and tropical plant collections. Five greenhouses are used by the Golightly Career and Technical Center's Agriscience Program for high school students in the metro Detroit area. These greenhouses help students learn skills for jobs such as gardeners, florists, arborists, and nursery owners. The first greenhouse on Belle Isle was built in 1903.

Non-profit involvement & volunteerism

The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory is free for the public to visit and uses a budget provided by local and state governments. However, Belle Isle has always received support from private groups and donors. Volunteer work is important for the island park. Four major volunteer organizations have been essential to the park’s success. Friends of Belle Isle, a non-profit group focused on the environment, was created in 1972. This group helps care for Belle Isle by cleaning the area and removing plants that harm the ecosystem. In 1988, the Belle Isle Botanical Society started raising money to improve the conservatory. This group also provided services such as volunteer guides and gardeners, and helped fund repairs, equipment, and the purchase of plants for the conservatory. In 2004, the Belle Isle Women’s Committee was formed, and its first project was to improve Sunset Point. In 2005, the non-profit Friends of the Belle Isle Aquarium was created to restore the island’s historic aquarium.

In 2009, the four organizations worked together to create a single group that could combine their efforts into a larger, more effective non-profit focused on improving the island. With help from the Cultural Alliance for Southeastern Michigan and the Michigan Nonprofit Association, they formed the Belle Isle Conservancy, a group made up entirely of volunteers. The Kresge Foundation, located in suburban Detroit, helped with this merger by giving the four organizations $100,000 in 2009 and another $100,000 in 2010. Today, the Belle Isle Conservatory has five employees, including one manager and a supervisor from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, who work in the Floriculture Unit. These staff members care for all the plants in the conservatory and the surrounding formal gardens. The conservatory depends on volunteers to handle other tasks and provide additional support.

Gallery

• Entrance Sign
• Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory
• The Henry A. Johnson Memorial Gardens
• Pathway Through the Tropical House
• Entrance to the Show House
• Show House (East Wing)
• Ferns
• Information Plate at the Conservatory
• Cactus at the Conservatory
• Flowers in the Conservatory