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Official Website of the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens - Druid Hill Park Baltimore, MD

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The Rawlings Conservatory greenhouses are in distinct climates that allow for the display of plants from all over the world. The Conservatory introduces the world's flora to visitors who may experience the plants in conditions close to their natural environments.

The mild Mediterranean greenhouse replicates the dry summers and foggy winters of the Mediterranean basin and southern California. The Tropical Forest greenhouse displays plants that originate in the tropics, including those native to parts of Africa, Asia, the Americas, Australia, and some tropical islands. The Desert greenhouse showcases plants that can endure the harsh, windy, and arid conditions of the desert where daytime temperatures can climb as high as 125 degrees Fahrenheit and fall as low as 10 degrees at night, with little rainfall. The Orchid Room features the largest of all the plant groups, which includes over 30,000 species and more than 100,000 registered hybrids. The Palm House grants the visitor an opportunity to return to the Victorian era. Explore the Conservatory"

Established in 1888 as the Druid Hill Conservatory, the Howard P. Rawlings Conservatory has grown from the original Palm House and Orchid Room to include three greenhouses, two display pavilions, and outdoor gardens. History"

The mission of the Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens is to foster an appreciation and understanding of plants from around the world and the vital roles they play in our lives. Mission"

See beautiful images and learn about what is in currently in bloom at the Conservatory. What's in Bloom"

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howard peters rawlings conservatory & botanic gardens

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outdoor gardens at rawlings conservatory

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The Rawlings Conservatory greenhouses are in distinct climates that allow for the display of plants from all over the world. The Conservatory introduces the world's flora to visitors who may experience the plants in conditions close to their natural environments. The mild Mediterranean greenhouse replicates the dry summers and foggy winters of the Mediterranean basin and southern California.

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Official Website of the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens - Druid Hill Park Baltimore, MD

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The Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens has distinct environments that allow the display of plants from all over the world. The buildings create an appropriate environment for plants from tropical, desert, and Mediterranean environments.

Tropical plants require a climate around 72 degrees, with 80 percent humidity and frequent rain. Desert plants require 90-plus degrees, 20-30 percent humidity, and little rainfall. These climates differ greatly from that of Maryland with its cold winters, hot summers, and 42 inches of annual rainfall. The Conservatory thus provides an efficient tour of the world's flora (from China to Africa, from the South American rainforests to the world's deserts) where visitors of any age and any level of horticultural interest and expertise may study the plants in their natural environments.

Mediterranean House

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The mild Mediterranean greenhouse replicates the dry summers and foggy winters of the Mediterranean basin and southern California. This climate results from prevailing westerly winds blowing inland from the sea. In the summer, when the land is warmer than the water, the moisture in the air immediately evaporates, creating a warm, dry season. Alternatively, when the water is warmer than the land in the winter, the effect is of a wet, often foggy, season with mild temperatures. Plants of the Mediterranean, such as rosemary, bay trees, and geraniums, have been introduced throughout the world.

Tropical House

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The Tropical Forest greenhouse displays the plants that originate in the tropics - the areas located between 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south of the equator. Plants on display include those native to parts of Africa, Asia, the Americas, Australia, and some tropical islands. This amazing variety of flora requires abundant rain, high humidity, and consistently warm temperatures. Tropical plants receive 12 hours of light per day and direct, intensely hot light from the sun.

The year-round growing seasons encourage very tall trees with dense canopies that greatly limit the sunlight available to the plants below. To survive, the plants underneath have adapted in various ways. Some grow very large leaves to capture as much available light as possible. Vining plants grow closer to the light by climbing the tree trunks. Epiphytes, such as many orchids and bromeliads, live up in the trees and grow aerial roots that attach to the surface of the tree branches. These aerial roots, contrary to popular belief, are not usually parasitic, but allow the epiphytes to capture rainwater filled with nutrient-rich organic debris before it can trickle down to the plants below on the forest floor.

Desert House

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The Desert greenhouse showcases plants that can endure the harsh, windy, and arid conditions of the desert where daytime temperatures can climb as high as 125 degrees Fahrenheit and fall as low as 10 degrees at night. With little or no rainfall-often 10 inches or less a year-true deserts have plant coverage of 10 percent or less. Desert plants must make special adaptations in order to survive. Desert plants include: annuals such as wildflowers that sprout when it rains; century plants which only grow when it rains; water-storing succulents such as cacti and sansevieria; and, small shrubs such as yuccas, Joshua trees, and creosote.

Orchid Room

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The Orchid Room features the largest of all the plant groups, which includes over 30,000 species of orchids and more than 100,000 registered hybrids. One in 10 of the earth's plant species is an orchid. The orchids on display are selected to showcase a representative range of varieties and are usually displayed only during their blooming period.

Palm House

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The Palm House grants the visitor an opportunity to return to the Victorian era, the period named for Queen Victoria, an English monarch who ruled from 1837-1901. Victorians intensely pursued engineering, exploring and collecting. These fascinations culminated in the construction of great iron, glass, and wooden buildings to showcase plants collected from worldwide expeditions. Though most Victorian parlors included plants, most homes could not accommodate the larger species, thus the popularity of the public conservatories for exhibiting palms and other large plants that require a tropical environment.

Outdoor Gardens

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The Sundial in the Garden is an unusual, multi-faceted sundial created by Peter Hamilton of Guilford and Waltersville Granite Company and was presented to the City of Baltimore around 1890. It was originally crafted out of granite but has since been covered in bronze. The sundial records the times for Baltimore, Cape Cod, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, Pitcairn Island, Sitka, Honolulu, Jeddo (Tokyo), Calcutta, Cape Town, Jerusalem, Fernando Po, and London.

The time recorded on the dial is not in sync with today's clocks. Before standard time was enacted in 1884, people used solar time. This meant that noon on Cape Cod arrived earlier than noon in Baltimore. Today, especially during daylight savings time, the dial can be off by as much as an hour and 45 minutes.

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The Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens has distinct environments that allow the display of plants from all over the world. The buildings create an appropriate environment for plants from tropical, desert, and Mediterranean environments. Tropical plants require a climate around 72 degrees, with 80 percent humidity and frequent rain.

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Official Website of the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens - Druid Hill Park Baltimore, MD

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Something is always in bloom at the Rawlings Conservatory! Flowers and fruiting plants change from week to week. The Orchid Room features an ever-changing display of exquisite forms and colors. The Tropical House smells sweet from prolific blossoms throughout the year.

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Something is always in bloom at the Rawlings Conservatory! Flowers and fruiting plants change from week to week. The Orchid Room features an ever-changing display of exquisite forms and colors. The Tropical House smells sweet from prolific blossoms throughout the year.

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Official Website of the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens - Druid Hill Park Baltimore, MD

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Established in 1888 as the Druid Hill Conservatory, the Howard P. Rawlings Conservatory has grown from the original Palm House and Orchid Room to include three greenhouses, two display pavilions and outdoor gardens.

In 1874, Baltimore City park commissioners designated sufficient ground and proposed to establish a botanical conservatory in Druid Hill Park. The committee also directed George A. Frederick, the park architect, to design and make plans for the new building. Mr. Abbott Kenny, a member of the committee for the conservatory, traveled to Europe to visit the famous Kew Gardens of London, a model for the new design.

The idea was abandoned but was revived in 1885. The plan called for a structure of iron and wood with a Palm House at its center. The building would be built using Baltimore workmen. The Conservatory opened Aug. 26, 1888, to a well-received audience of about 300 visitors.

Holding steady through the years, the affectionately named Baltimore Conservatory was closed to the public in 2002 for a major renovation. The newly redesigned production houses were to include a Mediterranean House, a Tropical House and Desert House. The conservatory re-opened Sept. 24, 2004, and shortly thereafter its official name was changed by law to The Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, in honor of the former Maryland House of Appropriations chairperson Pete Rawlings.

The Conservatory is the second-oldest steel framed-and-glass building still in use in the United States.

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Established in 1888 as the Druid Hill Conservatory, the Howard P. Rawlings Conservatory has grown from the original Palm House and Orchid Room to include three greenhouses, two display pavilions and outdoor gardens. In 1874, Baltimore City park commissioners designated sufficient ground and proposed to establish a botanical conservatory in Druid Hill Park.