Central Siberian Botanical Garden

Olga, Paulina, Sasha, Peggy, and Jane


We walked to the Central Siberian Botanical Gardens with Paulina, Olga, Sasha, and Jane this morning. Bob and I had tried to find the gardens last week but gave up after walking for over an hour with no luck.



When we arrived at the main building we found out that there were no tours available. Jane used her extraordinary persuasive skills and managed to get us into some greenhouses. Once inside we enjoyed a lively conversation with the botanist as we exchanged names and stories of the plants we had in common and especially about the ones that were unfamiliar to us. A number of years ago, Bob tried his hand at bonsai cultivation. He was impressed with the bonsai specimens here.






























Olga, Jane, Paulina, and Bob with a mammoth's tooth.









Bob, Peggy, Jane, Olga, Paulina, and Sasha









In the outside gardens, we saw this cedum in neat semi-circles. It reminded me of the spiral that Susan is creating with it in St Paul. Looking at the hosta gave me an idea of what ours will be looking like at home after a first frost. Of course we are at the end of the growing season here. Now, we have to imagine how beautiful these gardens are when in full bloom at the peak of the season.







































This is Paulina's favorite tree--you can see why!













Olga and Sasha: Classmates from the Mathematics and Physics magnet, and now group mates at the university














Bob, Jane, and Peggy














Bob and Paulina
















Our guides and interpreters made this a particularly pleasant morning.