How many days until spring?

Friday was a beautiful day in Kansas City.  I spent the day seeing customers, handing out price books and talking about new plants at the nursery.  


At the end of the day I was in the Crossroads District, just minutes away from the Kauffman Memorial Gardens, and realized it was time to stop talking about plants and time to go see some.  

The doors were wide open at the garden's conservatory and the sweet scent of gardenias and orange blossoms filled the air.

Gazing balls reflect the view of the sky from the windows above.  Light streaming in from the windows at the front of the conservatory shines through the petals of the flowers of the Euryops.  

If you too are wondering how many days there are until spring and need a plant fix, a visit to the Kauffman Memorial Gardens will probably help.

On the way to the conservatory, don't rush too quickly past the plants in the gardens outside.  Even in the winter, there is plenty to see.  The copper colored exfoliating bark of the China Snow Lilac glows.  I love the lines of the twisted trunk in the middle photograph.  Deciduous female holly plants have bright red fruit all winter long.