somewhere in Manila

Even though it was only less than 3 months since we have visited the Philippines, I am already missing my native land. I miss walking beneath the swaying palm trees and wandering around a tropical garden.

But the other day, we visited something similar.

We walked in the midst of lush vegetation, typical of a rain forest.

Took shelter from the sun under the broad banana leaves.

And was greeted by familiar tropical fruits, though we did not pick them. First of all, they were not ripe yet. Second, we are not allowed to.

We also found cool water falls in the midst of the thick flora.

It was indeed a beautiful tropical garden.

No, I am not back in the Philippines. In fact, I am not even in a tropical place. All of these were inside a huge glass dome, right here in Des Moines, Iowa, where winter is cold and harsh.

But inside this big greenhouse, the temperature is controlled, where it is warm and balmy all year round, just like the tropics.

There was even a patch of desert plants in one corner.

And of course, there were lots of beautiful tropical flowers for us to admire. Here are a few of them.

Spending some time in the garden was a cool (or should I say hot!) experience.

It does not matter what the weather outside. Whether it is spring, summer, fall or even if it is the dead of winter. I don’t care even if there is a blizzard outside. For under this glass ceiling, I felt right at home.

I wonder if they would let me set up a bahay kubo (nipa hut) in here.

(*photos taken inside the Des Moines Botanical Center)