A Desert House With Healing Properties

When you visit the Atlanta Botanical Garden, be sure to stop by the Desert House. It's easily missed if you go straight from the Fuqua Conservatory to the Orchid Center, but so worth the time when you explore the entire Conservatory, which includes the Desert House.

Desert House, Atlanta Botanical Garden

One of the really cool aspects of the Desert House is that there's not a cacti in sight! Not a one! Well, unless you look out one of the nearby windows. The Garden does indeed have cacti, but they're all outside. 

The Desert House is home to succulents from Madagascar and Southern Africa. There are a lot of thorns, so you'll want to watch your step...and not just your feet, watch your shoulders, heads, and for goodness sake, watch your kids. One false move and what was supposed to be a fun, educational excursion is all of a sudden a Band-Aid Exercise.

Desert House, Atlanta Botanical Garden

Keep an eye out for blooms, too! They aren't going to be as big as they are in the Orchid Center or elsewhere in the Garden, but they're just as beautiful.

Desert House, Atlanta Botanical Garden

Although the many, many thorns are not something you want to become intimate with, they're definitely worth closer observation...these, for example, are stunning.

There's a lot more color in the Desert House than you might imagine, you just have to look for it.

Desert House, Atlanta Botanical Garden

And you can't forget about the shapes. Succulents come in so many shapes and sizes. There are some that are spiraling as fast as they can toward the ceiling and others that are easily mistaken for stones!

Desert House, Atlanta Botanical Garden

I hinted of healing properties in the headline of this post. It turns out that the Rosy Periwinkle, a relatively common and readily available flowing desert plant, is a source of alkaloids that are used in the treatment of some forms of Leukemia, such as Hodgkin's Disease.

There's some pretty cool stuff going on in the Desert House!

Desert House, Atlanta Botanical Garden

You know, I've been visiting the Desert House since 1989 when it opened, and I still see something new every time I go.

So, my advice...make time to visit the Desert House in the Conservatory...and remember the special exhibits room and the Orangerie, too!