The Secret Life of the Conservatory

Welcome to your summer escape into nature with our free Conservatory trail, using sound and storytelling to bring our green utopia to life.

Have you got your headphones ready? If not, chat to one of our friendly hosts who can lend you some to complete the audio trail.

Plug into the magical world of the Flora and Fauna and let yourself be transported as the plants are brought to life in a new way.

As you explore the Conservatory, look out for the illustrated boards to scan and play the next story on your journey - or scroll down on this page to listen.

Pick up an illustrated activity sheet from one of our Hosts where you can draw and collect your thoughts throughout this immersive storytelling experience, within the calm of our green oasis.

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Transcript

It is said there is something living here, deep among the undergrowth. There was an elderly lady, or so the story goes, with twinkly eyes who lived in one of the nearby flats. If you turn to your right, you can see them through the window. No one knew who she was or where she had come from, but she had curly grey hair that trailed all down her back and wore long brightly-coloured shawls with tasselled trims.

People said she had travelled from far away, that she was a wood dweller, or forest witch, and kept an unusual creature in the basket she carried everywhere she went. But nobody really knew.

She loved nature and as she didn’t have a garden she invited the plants inside instead. There were cacti in the cupboards, climbing ivy wrapped around the shower, ferns in the fireplace, and colourful flowers along every windowsill. The veins on her hands were like the vines that traipsed over her balcony and she always smiled at anyone who walked past, but never spoke. She grew strange smelling herbs and peppery spices too and if anyone was in need, all they had to do was ask and she’d have just the right ingredients to help them heal and be on their way. Often there would be people enjoying a peppermint tea with her on the balcony, nervously eyeing the basket on the floor, which made a soft rustling sound as the wind chime tinkled overhead. No one dared lift the blanket to see what was inside though.

One day, she disappeared, leaving behind a small note that simply said,
‘Look after the plants, and they will look after you.’

So, to honour her kindness, it was decided that they would all be donated to the Barbican Conservatory across the road so that everyone could enjoy them. The whole community helped carry them in; in shopping trolleys, in suitcases, in crates, in carrier bags, until one by one, they were all re-homed. But during the move, it’s thought that no one saw the strange little animal with big eyes inside one of the boxes…

A few weeks later, the gardeners noticed unusual things happening here:
“I always remember to turn the hose off but it was on one morning when I arrived, leaking all over the floor.”
“I got to work and one of the terrapins was in the koi pond, I don’t know how it got there.”
“Nothing out of the ordinary will happen, a few months will go by, and then I’ll find one of the plant pots smashed, or there’ll be loads of figs scattered around the place.”
“Is there anyone else who uses the space who could be responsible?” asked an interviewer.
“It’s always first thing in the morning, or when we’ve been closed for a day… so I’m not sure,” said the Head Gardener.
“Marta thinks she saw a tail once.”
“I found a strange patch of fur by the door…”

There have always been strange goings on though… everything in here is alive after all. The plants bloom, blossom, climb, and thrive in the heat. Their roots go deep. They entwine, entangle and enmesh, so it could just be our eyes playing tricks on us. Or maybe, just maybe, there is something else living here. So make sure you stick to paths, and definitely don’t touch anything… just in case.

Welcome to the Conservatory.

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Transcript

The rains were coming, and the plants were waiting. From the tallest trees to the smallest shrubs, the whole forest seemed to be looking up. Petal cups of flowering bromeliad plants in pink, red, purple and yellow, lay open to the sky, their central funnel eagerly anticipating the waters to come. They were so thirsty! Then… a droplet on mud, a drip on bark, a splash on a leathery green leaf, and another and another and another until the whole rainforest was awash, covered in sheets of water. The plants danced, drinking it in, storing it up, until they were overflowing, water trickling down their scaly leaves.

Filled to the brim, the tiny bromeliad swimming pool, no bigger than a ten-pence piece, started to attract all kinds of interesting insects. They swam and glided, and made little ripples as they bathed. Soon a whole ecosystem, a whole community of living things, started to thrive, drawing the attention of a bright little frog.

It was luminous. Its skin a shocking mustard yellow, almost neon, with black splodges on its back. It ate ants and termites with its sticky tongue, and the poisonous bugs turned the little amphibian into the most lethal animal on the planet. The slime on its skin could kill up to 10 grown-ups! Meanwhile, the long, pointed leaves of the bromeliad continued to absorb water to keep the little reservoir full and protected, and the poison-dart frog realised it was just the spot it had been looking for…

The frog bounded back to its nest and its hundreds of microscopic eggs. Within a few days the tiny dots had become lots of little tadpoles and the frog got them to wriggle onto its back. Very carefully, it carried them to the centre of the water- filled bromeliad, and plunged into the pool at the bottom of the leaves where they could splash and swirl happily until they were ready for their metamorphosis. Some of them would spend their whole lives in the heart of this beating plant that was flourishing and feeding the life within.

In a few weeks, the tadpoles began to change. Two hind legs started to form, then a pair of front legs, and then the tail disappeared before it developed the full face of a frog. Every organ changed, its gills vanished, and its lungs enlarged, so that it was ready to live on land. One by one, each tadpole transformed, until they were fully-formed froglets Then, together, they burst out of the bromeliad, bouncing all over the place, leaping here, hopping there, until they could be heard calling all through the flooded forest, making a cacophony of noise. It wouldn’t be long before they found their very own bromeliad pool to nest in.

So, is there more to these flowers than you first thought? They can provide a safe home for wildlife when it rains… but it’s probably for the best that we don’t get rain in the Conservatory… otherwise we might just end up with an army of frogs too!

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Transcript

Ana looked down at her bare feet and pushed her toes into the damp soil. The canopy of leaves overhead was so dense, there was almost no sunlight at all. She smoothed her hair away from her face, knelt down and let her finger tips touch the ground. Ana loved being alone like this in the forest. The air was dewy and sticky and she could smell the wet bark.

Out the corner of her eye she spotted a tiny little firefly illuminating the foliage like a twinkling star. It seemed to be beckoning her, calling her on, so she parted the velvety calathea leaves in front and began to follow it. As she crawled through the undergrowth she discovered a world of minibeasts: ants, spiders, woodlice, centipedes… normally she’d have been afraid of them, but they were so busy tending to their daily tasks, carrying leaves, weaving webs, and scurrying along, they didn’t bother her at all.

The firefly fluttered on, lighting the way before her until it reached a small collection of mushrooms. It stopped, hovering over them, swirling and dancing around, until eventually it landed, slowing the gentle beat of its wings. Ana hesitated. Did it want her to touch it? She reached out her hand and nervously stroked the soft and squishy top of the fungus instead. Suddenly, another one burst out the ground beside it, and then another and another until they were sprouting all around her. They grew from tree roots, from mulch, from fallen branches; everywhere she looked there were more of them. Some were brightly coloured toadstools while others were white like mini cauliflowers and some even looked like orange jelly. More and more fireflies appeared too, giving off a dazzling phosphorescence until the magical forest floor looked like the night sky.

Ana watched in wonder as the fungi continued to multiply in front of her, and as she looked closely she realised the fireflies were showing her the inside of the mushrooms. It was as though she had x-ray vision. She leaned in and saw a tangle of intricate veins flowing from the springy skin of the fungi into the soil and the roots of trees, spreading over the ground like radiant wires, intertwined and pulsing.

Slowly she stood up. Next to her was a tall Fiddle Leaf Fig tree that appeared to be struggling. It had dark spots and odd colours, the leaves almost looked like they were rusting and the bark was brittle and broken in places, with patches that were peeling. Feeling sorry for the tree, she tenderly placed her hand on the trunk to comfort it. She looked down and noticed a swathe of fungi at her feet, which led to trails of more fungi, connected to other trees all around and she realised that through this marvellous mushroom network, they were sharing food, nursing the sick tree back to health.

Where before she had been squeamish and wary, Ana was in awe. She lay down and gently nestled her head between the mushrooms, letting them touch her cheeks, her shoulders, her neck, the back of her head and all down her arms. They tickled at first making her giggle, but as she let them rest against her, she started to feel a tingling in her toes that spread through her body. She watched in amazement as the fungi lit up her palms that lay outstretched facing the sky. The superfine threads she had seen woven between the fungi and the trees started to spread over her, and the light shot through her body until every part of her was glowing like the fireflies overhead. She looked up to see them shining brighter than ever. As they danced among the plants, delighting in their green, blue, and pinkish hues, it was as though she was watching the Northern Lights. With a beaming smile, she nestled down further into the fungi, and knew that through them, she was connected to everything in the forest.

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Transcript

Ollie loved his new plant. He had always wanted a pet, but as he lived in a very small house by the docks, there simply wasn’t enough space. So, for his birthday his Grandad bought him a Monstera Deliciosa.

“This is yours to look after now,” Grandad said in his gruff voice, and placed it on a little stool in the bedroom. It had big stalks and large love-heart shaped leaves. Ollie would sit under it to read, or draw, or have some quiet time to himself, and pretend he lived in the depths of the jungle.

Within a few days, the Monstera had already grown. It loomed in the corner, casting large shadows up against the wall and developed a handful of new shoots. They were fresh green and curled in on themselves, and by the evening, they gloriously fanned out. Ollie cared for it meticulously. He kept a close eye on each and every leaf, delicately dusting them and spraying each one at the slightest sign of drooping, and if the plant wilted a little or looked sad, he would talk to it to cheer it up.

Worried it would quickly outgrow its pot, Ollie started to trim it down. At first he took the leaves that were browning or crispy from the sun, but this didn’t seem to help, so he cut long stalks off, each with a root at the end, and gave them to his friends at school. He stuck bamboo sticks into the soil and tied up various stems in an attempt to tame it, but the Monstera continued to grow. Soon it was towering over the wardrobe and pushing up against the window. It wasn’t long before it was half-way across the ceiling.

Though a little scared, Ollie thought that it looked marvellous and majestic, like a beanstalk towering over him, but he couldn’t help but notice the way it seemed to be bending in on itself, searching for space. The next morning, he woke up to a full canopy above him. He kept cutting stems away, hoping it would settle down, but these smaller Monsteras started to grow too!

Eventually it got so big, he couldn’t open his bedroom door.
“Ollie, you’re going to be late for school, ” his mum shouted.
“I’m not feeling well,” he called.
“What’s wro-?”
But then one of the stems slithered out under the door frame. His mum managed to thrust the door open and gasped. Every surface was covered in the gigantic leaves. Some were nearly a metre wide!
“I tried to cut it mum, but it just kept growing.”
Then the phone began to ring.
“Wait here,” she said, before hurrying away.
He sat nervously among the foliage, gently stroking it until she returned.
“That was the headteacher, Ms Hart, apparently we’re not the only ones with this problem. Half the school is overrun. Did you give out little Monsteras to everyone!?” his mum asked, her voice rising in panic.
By this point Ollie was clutching part of the plant to his chest, he could feel it against him, straining to get out, pressing against the windows and the walls. He nodded and looked at his feet.
“Oh Ollie. I’m sorry but it needs to go somewhere bigger where it will be happy.”
Fortunately, she knew the perfect place for a Monster Monstera.

Together, they managed to get it here to the conservatory, where it could climb as high as it wanted. If you look up you’ll see it trails all the way up to the top balcony! Ollie visits all the time, and though he misses living with his jungle friend, he knows it’s happier here. On one particular visit he could have sworn he saw something, rustling about the leaves, but when he looked back, there was nothing there. Perhaps he imagined it. Have you seen anything?

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Transcript

Take a deep breath.

Breathe in through your nose, and slowly out through your mouth. Did your shoulders go up? Try it once more, softening them down and letting your neck relax. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

We spend so much time rushing around. We have hardly finished one thing before we are on to the next. Running, jumping, cycling, scooting, pushing, shoving, tickling, laughing. So, take a little rest and just, be. In front of you is the koi pond. The last stop on your journey.

Watch them swimming. What different patterns do they have? How many yellow ones can you see? Which koi is the biggest? Do they seem to be talking to each other? What might they be saying? Or thinking? Why not pause the audio for a minute and listen to them as you consider these questions.

The water ripples, as they glide and drift, smoothly sailing, skimming, dipping, and diving. Legend has it the strongest koi could once turn into dragons…

Take another deep breath. Place your hands on your stomach and feel as your body goes gently up and down. If you're feeling brave, you can do this again but this time, close your eyes...

You are part of the Conservatory now. You have travelled the whole world. From the Bromeliads of Brazil, to the Indian Banyan Tree, to the giant leaves of the Mexican Monstera, to the Californian Palms, to the Fiddle Leaf Figs of Africa. A cornucopia of life, a hidden emerald gem, right here in the heart of the city.
Can you remember a favourite part? Picture it. Bring the colours to life in your mind. The giant trees, the climbing plants, the delicate flowers. Did the leaves have special patterns? Do you think they would be rough or smooth? Did it make you feel big or small?

Before you go, here is one last secret to share. When we’re closed and it’s all dark, and the moon shines through the glass ceiling, some plants like the purple Oxalis fall asleep, folding their butterfly-wing petals closed, while others enjoy looking up at the starry sky. Perhaps, if there is a mystery creature living here, this is when it dares to come out and run around, at night-time, when it’s all peaceful and quiet… and in the daytime, it rests, comforted by the smells and sounds of its home in the Conservatory. Maybe you can even hear it sleeping now...

When you are ready, bat your eyelashes open. Look up - what sort of day is it?

As you have wandered, the plants have given you life. They have inhaled and exhaled. They have taken your carbon as you have breathed out and given you oxygen as you breathed in, so you can be truly lighter, brighter and free. This whole space is living and breathing; it is always changing, growing, evolving, adapting. But it is never rushed. Plants take all the time they need.

So as you go back outside, into the London hum, remember to take your time if you can. There will always be something new to see, if you look hard enough…

Stories written and narrated by Emma Hayes
Sound design and narration by Xavier Velastín
Illustrations and design by Aleesha Nandhra