The plants at Cascada

Construction of Cascada in the nearby Alberta Arts District has been going on for quite some time now. So long actually that I'd kind of forgotten all about it, until a couple photos showed up in a friend's Instagram feed. That spurred me to check it out for myself...

"Welcome to CASCADA, our immersive wellness sanctuary built to be as healthy for humans as it is sustainable for the earth. Here you will find a community of people looking to connect with each other, who are dedicated to daily wellness activities, who are passionate about art, music, and adventure, and who value the opportunity to eat and rest in sustainable luxury" 

(hmmm....)

Of course I was there for the plants. This planting area is on the side of the building facing east.

I first heard about Cascada from Sean Hogan (Cistus Nursery), as he did the planting design and supplied the plants. Among them are aspidistra...

Choice mahonia...

Schefflera delavayi

Eryngium pandanifolium (I think?), Yucca rostrata and palms...

The Eryngium...

Chamaerops humilis var. cerifera

This next photo makes it painfully obvious that Cistus Nursery folks were not the ones who did the actual planting, those poor agaves!

Seriously sad.

The building. Somewhere along the line the units themselves flipped from being built out as apartments to being a hotel.

The front entrance...

Instead of heading inside I kept on walking to check out the plantings on the other (west) side of the building.

As well as the artwork, by Joshua Martel.

More palms! (yes there are (oddly) deciduous trees too, but I was focused on the palms)

Back around front and time to head indoors...

Sweet!

Oh ya! That's a green wall of Rhipsalis...

Looking up...

And to the side...

I climbed those stairs to see the installation from above.

This will be interesting to watch. Rhipsalis are such easy going plants the maintenance requirements should be pretty low. But if there aren't plant people taking care of it who knows what might happen?

Looking down...

Cascada's claim to fame are the pools: "With 5 Pools of different temperatures, Dry Sauna, Steam Room, Ice Fountain and HaloTherapy (Salt), the Cascada HydroThermal Circuit is second to none and packed with healing and rejuvenating benefits for your body and mind." This tillandsia wall hangs at the end of a large pool...

The staff was kind enough to let me into the area to photograph the plants, as soon as the door opened a blast of warm humid air hit me. As long as they get a little misting now and then I think the tillandsia will be very happy here.

At the other end of the pool...

It looks like this area might be in need of a little TLC, some of the plants are already dried up.

Looking down...

And back across the pool. There were people enjoying the space but I was asked to not get any of them in my photos, a request I was happy to honor. I felt lucky to be allowed into the space to photograph.

The neighborhood around Cascada is a little rough around the edges, not that "sustainable luxury" vibe they're promoting. An incongruity that was visible through the large windows.

Back down in the lobby area (also home to a coffee shop), I noticed this work that has to be by the same artist—Fin DAC—that did the local Attitude of Gratitude mural (I wrote about it here), although I couldn't find a signature.

There's lots to love here, I'm glad I stopped by!

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All material © 2009-2025 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

A quick stop at Manito Park, in December

How many places feel like home to you? Twenty years after I moved from my house near Manito Park in Spokane this area still feels like home to me. I try to work in a visit whenever I'm up in Spokane visiting my family, which I was earlier this month, helping my mom celebrate her 83rd birthday. 

It was chilly, and we soon discovered a little icy too. 

Thankfully even though we slipped, we remained upright.

Gaiser Conservatory

Duncan Garden, in the process of being decorated for the holidays.

In past years the conservatory plants have been lit with thousands of holiday lights and you could tour after dusk, but that wasn't happening this year. 

Anthurium crystallinum at the base of a large cycad.

Nephrolepis exaltata 'Variegata'

The first of several Phlebodium aureum I would lust after.

It's impressive rhizomes.

I remember this tillandsia sculpture from past visits.

Bananas and leaves and colorful bracts.

I was aiming the camera at the impressive staghorn...

But then noticed the orchid blooms, this plant of many names goes by Angraecum sesquipedale, Darwin's orchid, Christmas orchid, and Star of Bethlehem orchid. I think there's an epiphyllum bloom in the mix too.

Another look at the staghorn...

A peek into the "do not enter" wing reveals an accident waiting to be propagated.

Into the dry wing, which of course is not immune to the need for Christmas color (I wish I knew what Andrew was bent over trying to see).

Euphorbia platyclada

After returning home from our visit I received the Friends of Manito Newsletter which included this wonderful story about the "Christmas cactus".... "The Christmas cactus at Manito Park’s Gaiser Conservatory will once again be in full bloom this holiday season, continuing a tradition that spans over 120 years. Originally propagated in Iowa in 1906, the cactus was a gift for Ellen, a young Norwegian woman who had immigrated to America through Ellis Island in 1903 with her husband, Andrew, and their young children."

"Delores, Ellen’s only living granddaughter, now 96 years old, fondly recalls the cactus as a constant presence in her grandparents’ home during Christmas. “It was always part of the tradition,” she says, noting how it brings back cherished memories of her early years. After Ellen’s passing, the cactus was lovingly handed down through generations—from daughter to granddaughter to great-granddaughter—until it was eventually donated to Gaiser Conservatory. Today, it blooms not just for one family but for the entire community, carrying with it over a century of holiday cheer and timeless memories."

Epiphyllum guatemalense.

Cleistocactus winteri (Golden Rat Tail Cactus), I believe.

Variegated Agave victoriae-reginae.

Heading out now, I spotted another Phlebodium aureum.

And another...

Who says you can't go home again?

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All material © 2009-2024 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.