{"id":7142,"date":"2018-07-29T04:00:50","date_gmt":"2018-07-29T11:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/?p=7142"},"modified":"2018-07-10T13:52:53","modified_gmt":"2018-07-10T20:52:53","slug":"cloud-forest-plants-in-the-amazon-spheres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/gardens\/cloud-forest-plants-in-the-amazon-spheres\/","title":{"rendered":"Cloud Forest Plants in the Amazon Spheres"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve heard it suggested that the Amazon Spheres could become the new symbol of Seattle. Bye-bye Space Needle; hello Spheres.<\/p>\n

Hmm … I don\u2019t know about that. At only 90 feet high, I seriously doubt the Spheres will become that famous. They\u2019re definitely an architectural conversation piece though.<\/p>\n

Their three interconnected glass domes are a stark contrast to the tall, rectangular high-rise buildings that surround them. Inside, instead of offices or cubicles, you\u2019ll find four floors devoted mainly to plants. Although sofas, chairs and tables are scattered around so Amazon employees can sit among the greenery and relax, work, or meet with each other.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The public can see the Spheres on a limited basis. My sister, my grandson, and I made reservations to visit on the first Saturday in July.<\/p>\n

My grandson took this photo of us sitting in “The Bird’s Nest.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This bouncy bridge led to “The Bird’s Nest.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Amazon horticulturists take meticulous care of the 40,000 plants in the Spheres. To mimic conditions in a tropical cloud forest, the temperature is kept between 68o<\/sup> and 74o <\/sup>during the day and allowed to fall as low as 55o <\/sup>at night. The humidity stays between 60 and 65 percent in the daytime and rises to 80-85 percent at night.<\/p>\n

Most of the plants in the Spheres are beautiful.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A few, though, gave off a sinister vibe.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It looked better once it was in full bloom.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Here’s another somewhat creepy looking plant.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Asian pitcher plant from SE Asia:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Creeping impatiens from SE Asia. I liked the shiny purplish-red stems.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Begonias from Brazil<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Lovely contrasting colors<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A close-up view of the pattern on those green leaves:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I like the dark green velvety leaves.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Bromeliad from Brazil<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The biggest tree in the Spheres is Rubi (ficus rubiginosa<\/em>). The 48-year-old tree was brought to Seattle from southern California. She had to be lowered through a hole in the ceiling by a crane. She now reaches from the bottom floor to the ceiling, four stories up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard it suggested that the Amazon Spheres could become the new symbol of Seattle. Bye-bye Space Needle; hello Spheres. Hmm … I don\u2019t know about that. At only 90 feet high, I seriously doubt the Spheres will become that famous. They\u2019re definitely an architectural conversation piece though. Their three interconnected glass domes are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[862,1050],"tags":[1763,1772,1770,1773,1774,1771],"class_list":["post-7142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gardens","category-washington-state","tag-amazon-spheres","tag-asian-pitcher-plant","tag-cloud-forest-in-amazon-spheres","tag-creeping-impatiens","tag-rubi-in-amazon-spheres","tag-slipper-orchid"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Kn1e-1Rc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7091,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/travel\/a-visit-to-the-amazon-spheres\/","url_meta":{"origin":7142,"position":0},"title":"A Visit to the Amazon Spheres","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"July 22, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I have mixed feelings about Amazon. I love the ease of shopping there. And now that I've joined Amazon Prime, the shipping is often free and very fast. Another advantage of Prime: Last week I watched A Very English Scandal, a great mini-series with no commercials that's only available on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Gardens"","block_context":{"text":"Gardens","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/gardens\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Amazon-Spheres-e1531164947401.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7264,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/travel\/detention-camps-then-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":7142,"position":1},"title":"Detention Camps Then & Now","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"September 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A beautiful day in August. Two of my daughters and one daughter's family were visiting. We toured the Amazon Spheres and had lunch at a restaurant nearby. Next stop, beautiful Bainbridge Island. Leaving Seattle in our wake, we sailed across Puget Sound on the jumbo class ferry, the M\/V Wenatchee.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "cultural identity. Asian Americans"","block_context":{"text":"cultural identity. Asian Americans","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/cultural-identity-asian-americans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_1112-e1536187038288.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9706,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/gardens\/a-life-dedicated-to-plants-the-kruckeberg-botanic-garden\/","url_meta":{"origin":7142,"position":2},"title":"A Life Dedicated to Plants, the Kruckeberg Botanic Garden","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"October 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"After a healthy lunch of borscht, spinach salad, and huge pretzels covered in seeds, my sister suggested a forest walk. She had a nearby destination in mind. And ... another motive. She'd heard that the Kruckeberg Botanic Garden had cyclamen plants for sale that day, the first Saturday in October.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Gardens"","block_context":{"text":"Gardens","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/gardens\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/IMG_3017-e1633474660281.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9977,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/washington-state\/hiking-a-nw-summer-essential\/","url_meta":{"origin":7142,"position":3},"title":"Hiking, a NW Summer Essential","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"July 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Hiking in the forest, hiking along a creek or river, hiking to a waterfall. No Northwest summer is complete without a good hike in the forest. I also like the beach of course. But beaches here are mainly good for walks and ferry rides. With an average water temperature in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hiking"","block_context":{"text":"Hiking","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/hiking\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/IMG_3454-e1657828064458.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9944,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/sounds\/if-a-tree-falls-in-the-forest\/","url_meta":{"origin":7142,"position":4},"title":"If a Tree Falls in the Forest …","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"June 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"You probably know the rest of that question. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody\u2019s around to hear it, does it make a sound? It was mentioned on the radio as I was driving back from a birthday party at my daughter\u2019s house in Tacoma. We\u2019d just finished\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "perception"","block_context":{"text":"perception","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/perception\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/IMG_0212-1-e1654286346829.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9915,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/gardens\/sad-thoughts-on-leaving-the-arboretum\/","url_meta":{"origin":7142,"position":5},"title":"Sad Thoughts on Leaving the Arboretum","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"May 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"It was mid-April. My daughter, my sister, and I were enjoying the afternoon walking around Seattle\u2019s Washington Park Arboretum, a large, wooded area of 230 acres with trails and walkways cutting back and forth and up and down. We\u2019d all been there many times and seen how it had changed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Gardens"","block_context":{"text":"Gardens","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/gardens\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/IMG_3316-e1651788868113.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7142"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7161,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7142\/revisions\/7161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}