We encountered lots of traffic on the way to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens for field trip number 3 in four days. I can only tell you about field trip number 4 in 4 days because we went to the Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts the next day to see Beauty and the Beast and you cannot take photos while in the theater. It was a delightful play so gather up your children/grandchildren/neighbors and take a trek to see the show. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
So, back to the gardens. We had somewhat of a comedian bus driver who we have used before and he kept us entertained in spite of the heavy traffic and the 99 Bottles of Coke on the Wall. We arrived safely at the gardens and were delighted by our first view upon entering. This fountain features a permanent Chihuly glass sculpture. Currently in the gardens, there is a travelling exhibit of Chihulys but this one stays put in Atlanta.
I will start you out with my favorite Chihuly in the garden because some people’s eyes glaze over when you start showing them pictures of flowers and your personal pets, so I thought I better strike fast and then let you determine how far you foray into my flowery repertoire.
I have heard that the Chihullys are especially pretty at night all lit up so I am looking forward to an adult field trip soon to see them after dark.
These sculptures have names but I was snapping in a hurry while keeping up with 39 fourth graders. Their behavior was perfect but I was not there on my own so a lot of the photos are click and dash.
I love this photo of the pond frogs. They were not shy. I guess they’re used to being gazed at by delighted faces all day long.
There were painters everywhere. Apparently an adult art group came in for a painting session on our same day. This particular man caught my attention. He was either colorblind or depressed because he was looking at the most vivid tableau and yet his painting was all shades of brown and tan. It was killing me not to intervene. I was thinking about telling him he was wanted in the gift shop and then go to town on his painting while he was away, adding splashes of the real colors that were in front of him.
Let me show you some of the real and very beautiful colors of the garden. This guy is missing out!
If you have made it this far through the post without tuning out, I shall now dazzle you with the centerpiece of the Chihuly collection. it’s huge and stunning.
Contrary to what it looks like, the glass is thick and sturdy. It only appears delicate and fragile. Our guide told us that each piece has to be assembled individually and the whole collection arrives in 5 full-sized trucks. It takes workers about a month to assemble them all.
Next, we went to the rain forest greenhouse garden. Those brown strands are roots coming from a plant at the ceiling.
I love this see through frond from the greenhouse jungle.
The bromeliad wall was impressive. I have unfortunately killed many a bromeliad in my day. The directions always say to water them from the top but mine never seem to thrive.
We encountered many statues. I didn’t include them all here but I did enjoy the friendly frogs around the gardens waiting for photo-ops.
And this representation of joy.
Finally, I found an ornamental piece for a gate.
Now, I’m sure only a handful of you have soldiered through to the end so I will delight you with a photo of a beautiful crinkled fern and an elegant apple espalier. Two items I would choose for my own garden.
To end our tour, we took a stroll on the treetop walkway. It was cool and inviting. A nice respite before heading back to the bus!
The Chihully are beautiful! The flowers are great, too!
Beautiful photos and I made it to the end! Sounds like we need to do a girls night out with dinner and the gardens!
Julie: Absolutely delightful…a favorite of mine….love receiving these.
MC
I used to be a member of the Botanical Gardens and miss it very much. While we have gardens around Savannah there is nothing here that could compare to this garden.