You may have heard that Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle includes a series of enormous greenhouses called The Spheres that are packed with an incredible collection of tropical plants. Frequent GPOD contributor Cherry Ong had the chance to visit and is taking us all on a tour of The Spheres today!
I’ve waited a long time to be able to tour The Spheres, and I finally did so in early February. I had heard from gardening friends that garden tours are now open to the public on the first and third Saturdays of each month. I got to visit The Understory last year, but of course it only made me want to see the inside even more.
The photos speak for themselves, and you will be astounded by the Living Wall when you enter and will continue to be astounded as you climb up to The Skydeck and look down at the entire wall. There are docents throughout who will answer your questions.
I caution that you may have an uncontrollable urge to buy a huge lot of houseplants after your visit. Kudos to Amazon, Siteworkshop, and Amazon Horticulture for this amazing garden. I hope to visit again, and I hope you all can visit someday soon.
Welcome to The Spheres!
The Living Wall is completely covered with a diverse mix of tropical plants.
The structure of the spheres themselves is beautiful and complements the natural forms of the plants growing within.
A tropical carnivorous plant in the genus Nepenthes. Of all the carnivorous plants, this is probably the genus that is easiest to grow indoors as a houseplant.
Big bold leaves mixed with ferns always look great.
A smaller living wall growing with supplemental artificial light. This is something you could totally recreate at home. LED lights are so energy efficient and good for plant growth that they make plantings like this very practical.
Here’s another living wall, this one of ferns. I want one!
This spiny leaf belongs, I believe, to a begonia.
The spheres are so large that there are entire trees growing inside.
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Comments
I'd never heard about this. Very interesting. Do they charge admission? Do you need to book ahead or just show up on the day? Thanks for sharing.
It’s free but you have to schedule ahead on their website. You will need to bring or show your ticket with a QR code and a photo ID. Hope you are able to visit.
Hi, Cherry, I really enjoyed these pictures. As impressive and enthralling as the giant wall of greenery is, it's the smaller scale one that my eyes lingered on longest. Hard not to think, "hmm, where could I do that either inside or outside at my own place." It's great that Amazon is opening The Spheres to the public...even if it's only only a limited basis. Hey, Amazon, here's a marketing idea...Prime members can visit anytime that employees can.
I think you should go ahead and make that pitch to them Michaele.
Especially love the smaller living wall of ferns - simply beautiful!
Myself as well. The frame is quite well done.
Cherry, thanks for sharing and informing us. Your photos show the enormity of this display much better than previous pictures I have seen. Looks like it would be worth facing the challenges involved in getting down to SLU one of these Saturdays!
Yes, quite worth it. The exterior garden is also gorgeous and plant lust worthy. Hope you are able to visit.
The Spheres are occupied and clamoring. We recommend composing your phone number on your child's wristband at registration just in the event that you get separated there are four stories and loads of individuals processing around, so on the off chance that you have a sprinter or a bolter, cheap dissertation it's a particularly smart thought.
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