Treasures of the Conservatory of Flowers

Nina Sazevich,
Photography by Kevin J. Frest

Trade Paper, ISBN: 1-59714-031-7, $8.95
72 pp (7.5 x 5.5), with full-color photographs throughout

Treasures of the Conservatory of Flowers is the first book to capture in great breadth and detailed attention the verdant richness of the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco. Housed in the oldest surviving municipal wood and glass greenhouse in the United States, the tropical plants of the Conservatory have attracted a steady stream of visitors since the building opened its doors in 1879.

Author Nina Sazevich tells of the historic building and its leafy inhabitants with studied but lively prose, sharing old stories and anecdotes—like the death of the Conservatory’s resident parrot in the 1883 fire that also took the Conservatory’s original dome—as well as modern developments—like the recently implemented Integrated Pest Management system, which employs natural predators in place of pesticides.

Divided into four parts—lowland tropics, highland tropics, aquatic plants, and potted plants—the book takes readers on a descriptive tour of the Conservatory’s main sections, with details on the flora that inhabit each of them. In addition, an illustration of the overall structure of the building supplies details of its beautifully preserved Victorian architecture.

A sumptuous book for a sumptuous botanical treat, Treasures of the Conservatory of Flowers is a breathtaking companion to this national, state, and city landmark.