SUPERnatural: Aerial Art in Motion

During my last visit to the Atlanta Botanical Garden, I once again felt like a tourist in New York City, craned neck looking up in awe at the towering skyscrapers. But there are no skyscrapers within the 30 acres of the Garden. But there's this...(video)...

The second part of this summer's SUPERnatural exhibition is Aerieal Art in Motion, by Poetic Kinetics based in Los Angeles. In particular, this piece is called Dream Flora, part of Patrick Shearn's signature Skynet Art Series. 

Dream Flora | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

Patrick Shearn is also the founder of Poetic Kinetics, which he launched in 2008 after a 30-year career in the film effects industry. Their large-scale works of art have been seen around the world. If this is your first sighting of one of their works, know that you are in for a spectacular treat!

Dream Flora | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

I hope you get to visit on a breezy day. Dream Flora is composed of red, orange, purple, and yellow nylon streamers attached to webs of transparent nets that are suspended by ropes in the trees. Even the slightest breeze will make this piece of art dance!

Dream Flora | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

SUPERnatural: Aerial Art in Motion - "Dream Flora"

Dream Flora | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

SUPERnatural: Aerial Art in Motion - "Dream Flora"

Dream Flora | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

At the point on the Canopy Walk where you find the Andrew Crawford stools, Dream Flora branches off toward Saffron Tower placed at the fartherest northeast point in the Garden.

Dream Flora | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

SUPERnatural: Aerial Art in Motion - "Dream Flora"

Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

Almost at the end of the Canopy Walk, I realized that I'd not been looking down. I was so mesmerized by Dream Flora that I wasn't paying attention to the Garden. That was resolved by another walk along the bridge, as well as under it where I got some awesome views of Dream Flora!

Dream Flora | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

At 600-feet long, 40-feet high, the 12-feet wide serpentine elevated pathway known as the Kendeda Canopy Walk opened in 2010 is considered the largest tree canopy-level walkway of its kind in the United States.

Dream Flora | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

The two summer exhibitions, collectively called SUPERnatural, intersect near Sourwood Terrace. Glass Art in Bloom, by Jason Gamrath, continues in the more formal part of the Garden and all the way to the Skyline Garden.

Check out Dream Flora during the day or during the evening (or both!) during Cocktails in the Garden. This exhicit will be on display through September 19, but you know not to wait...see it now so you don't miss this spectacular opportunity!

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined

That Atlanta Botanical Garden has reopened - with safety measures, of course. With extended hours, they're now open seven days per week, reserving Mondays for members only. Tickets are timed. If you're not ticketed, admission will be based on available occupancy, to help keep staff and visitors healthy.

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

Imaginary Worlds is back for an exciting third year in a row, this year's theme being "Alice's Wonderland Reimagined", and it includes Alice herself!

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

Just as Alice did In the Lewis Carroll classic, she's falling down the rabbit hole—suspended over Howell Fountain at the northeast edge of the Great Lawn. I think you too will fall for this magnificent exhibition! 

Some of the Imaginary Worlds sculptures from the last two years remain, some have traveled on, and Alice's Wonderland Reimagined brings new ones! 

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

Not the first sculpture you'll see, but the first new one for Alice's Wonderland Reimagined is through the Crepe Myrtle Allée, just beyond the Levy Parterre and the Japanese Garden. AND it rotates! You'll get better lighting photographing her from the Great Lawn, but being a rotating vignette, you'll have lots of spectacular angles and vistas from where to capture memories of your visit.

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

One of the new pieces is the Red Queen--at 16-foot tall--playing croquet in the Skyline Garden. This hilarious and gigantic diorama depicts the Red Queen using a flamingo for a mallet, a hedgehog for a ball, and a red card centurion for a hoop!

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

With the Garden's extended hours, they're gifting us "Cocktails in the Garden" every evening from 5pm-9pm! Note that last entry is at 8:30pm. And the sculptures are dramatically lit for an unique perspective on something that is already quite unique! 

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

The Cheshire Cat has been moved from the Perennial Garden to the Skyline Garden, gazing at the complex and brilliantly wonderful Chess Board from Alice's Wonderland.

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

The 27-foot tall, picturesque White Rabit is back, too, in the Skyline Garden. 

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

The sculptures are created through the centuries-old art of mosaiculture in which steel forms are covered in fabric, filled with soil and planted with thousands of living plants to form a colorful carpet.

The Garden first introduced guests to the art in 2013 when it presented the United States’ first major exhibition of mosaiculture produced by International Mosaiculture de Montreal®, a nonprofit group that has staged wildly successful displays of its work around the world.

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

This summer exhibition is merely one of the things happening at the Garden...there's so much more! On  their website, you can now tailor your experience by what you like and why you're there! There's lots for families, first dates, a romantic night out, a girls night out, garden enthusiasts, and a it makes a great addition to your staycation plans!

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

Note that at this time, masks are required for all indoor spaces, including bathrooms, cafe/restaurant, as well as the gift shop, conservatory, and orchid center when they re-open soon. The Gainesville location is scheduled to re-open on June 16.

Go see Alice's Wonderland Reimagined now through November 1 at the Atlanta Botanical Garden!

Imaginary Worlds: Alice's Wonderland

Time and again the Atlanta Botanical Garden has outdone itself with a new, exciting, must-see special exhibition and this year's summer exhibition is no exception, other than it's absolutely exceptional! Imaginary Worlds: Alice's Wonderland is wondrous. It delights the imagination. It inspires awe. It is indeed a must-see!

Atlanta Botanical Garden | Imaginary Worlds: Alice's Wonderland
(Photo: Travis Swann Taylor)

This exhibition is a rabbit hole you're happy to fall into and don't plan on coming out quickly. You get to immerse yourself in 16 installations of 38 individual sculptures, many themed after Alice in Wonderland. 

The "White Cat" sculpture is 27-feet tall!!! "Planted" in the Aquatic Pond, be sure to walk the perimeter so you can take in the full experience! At first I din't know what the black pole was holding up the Mad Hatter's hat, but once you're upon it you see that it's an umbrella handle. If you don't walk around the sculpture, you might miss the giant pocket watch and many of the other spectacular details. 

Atlanta Botanical Garden | Imaginary Worlds: Alice's Wonderland
(Photo: Travis Swann Taylor)

As you explore Alice's Wonderland, you too will be smiling, not a Cheshire Cat's mischievous smile, but a smile of delight. 

Atlanta Botanical Garden | Imaginary Worlds: Alice's Wonderland
(Photo: Travis Swann Taylor)

The giant chess board was a gigantic surprise! I've played chess since I was nine years old and it's my favorite game. That this one incorporates my favorite animal—horses—made this a double treat for me and for so many other Garden guests. It's the largest concentration of sculptures, one that you do not want to miss.

Atlanta Botanical Garden | Imaginary Worlds: Alice's Wonderland
(Photo: Travis Swann Taylor)

A nod to the Red Queen, there are heart playing card centurions on the giant chess board! 

Atlanta Botanical Garden | Imaginary Worlds: Alice's Wonderland
(Photo: Travis Swann Taylor)

If you've seen Imaginary Worlds before and wondered "How do they tend to the 'living' sculptures?", many of them are hand-watered. It's fun, and endearing, to see!

Speaking of "hydration", a favorite way to experience the Atlanta Botanical Garden is its spring and summer series on Thursday evenings, Cocktails in the Garden. #datenight

Enjoy a glass of wine, a cocktail, a beer, or the Garden's new beer, a collaboration with local Wild Heaven Beer, called "Garden Beer". It's fantastic and already super-popular with Garden guests! 

Atlanta Botanical Garden | Imaginary Worlds: Alice's Wonderland
(Photo: Travis Swann Taylor)

Some of last year’s Imaginary Worlds: Once Upon a Time crowd-favorites are back, some donning coats of different plant palettes than before...and they're BEAUTIFUL! Be sure to get a garden map on your way in so that you do not miss any of them.

Atlanta Botanical Garden | Imaginary Worlds: Alice's Wonderland
(Photo: Travis Swann Taylor)

Some of the returning sculptures from last years are in different locales, within the Garden, and at least one—Rumpelstiltskin—is now nodding at Atlanta Botanical Garden, Gainesville, a delightful and highly recommended experience!

Atlanta Botanical Garden | Imaginary Worlds: Alice's Wonderland
(Photo: Travis Swann Taylor)

TIP: Remember to charge your phone before or on the way to the Garden. You WILL want to make photos...many, many photos of these enchanting sculptures! 

And while you're snapping photos to share on social media and to revisit later, be sure you're also in-the-moment. This is truly an exceptional experience, one I think you'll want to absorb in its entirety. 

Atlanta Botanical Garden | Imaginary Worlds: Alice's Wonderland
(Photo: Travis Swann Taylor)

Keep an eye out for Alice herself! Like Rumpelstiltskin, she too is nodding. You'll find her in a bed of brightly colored mushrooms being watched over by the Cheshire Cat. Makes one wonder what that Cheshire Cat has been up to...

Atlanta Botanical Garden | Imaginary Worlds: Alice's Wonderland
(Photo: Travis Swann Taylor)

Don't find yourself getting "curiouser and curiouser"...get yourself to the Atlanta Botanical Garden to see Imaginary Worlds: Alice's Wonderland now through Sunday, October 27.

Imaginary Worlds: Once Upon a Time

The newest exhibition at the Atlanta Botanical Garden is exciting beyond words...you must see it in real-life! It takes you to a time when you loved playing make-believe, a time of fairy-tales, a time of larger-than-life mysterious and mythical creatures...it takes you to "Imaginary Worlds".

Dragon | Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

Atlantans and tourists were blown away when Imaginary Worlds came to the Atlanta Botanical Garden in 2013 and again in 2014. The new exhibition, Imaginary Worlds: Once Upon a Time, far surpasses the wonderment we we knew then, as impossible as that sounds. 

The Dragon on the Great Lawn has become an immediate visitor favorite, and be sure to not miss the Sleeping Princess in the flower bed at its feet.

I've already seen the exhibition numerous times, with my 20+ years friend Jeff and fellow friends, my foodie friend Sally, my dear friend Katherine from D.C. who now lives in Florida, and I got to go on the media preview before the exhibition opened to the public...the sculptures have grown in nicely since then. And I'm going back at least a few times in the next couple of months! 

"Imaginary Worlds was just so incredibly popular with our guests that we just had to bring it back—but with an all-new twist," said Mary Pat Matheson, the Garden’s President & CEO, who had assumed leadership of the Garden only a couple of years before she bought Chihuly to to the Atlanta Botanical Garden in 2004 (the first time), the grandest visionary move since the Conservatory opened in 1989.

Pegasus | Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

Imaginary Worlds: Once Upon a Time is a storybook-themed exhibition, featuring magical and mythical creatures in more than a dozen installations displayed outdoors and indoors.

Cocktails in the Garden is back, too! That means you get to see the sculptures dramatically lit as the sun goes down. Some of the creatures have illuminated eyes, including the Pegasus, that are more like catchlight than glowing...they're spectacular! 

The hours for Cocktails in the Garden have changed to half an hour earlier. It's now 5:30pm to 9:30pm, which is great news for those of us who enjoy going straight from the office.

Phoenix | Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

As if the sculptures alone weren't exciting enough, Imaginary Worlds: Once Upon a Time is a two-year exhibition! This year it runs through Sunday, October 28, but don't wait. Once you've seen it the first time, you'll want to go again and again and again.

The sculptures were created by International Mosaiculture of Montreal and were then transported in environmentally-controlled trucks more than 1,200 miles to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. It took a period of time to complete the installation once onsite.

Phoenix | Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

Being three-dimensional, be sure to take advantage of seeing the whole of the sculptures that you can, particularly the Phoenix. You can't miss the Phoenix as you walk up the Promenade toward Longleaf restaurant. It's perched on the edge of Alston Overlook, the highest point in the Garden.

During one visit, there was a storyteller who dramatically told the story of the Phoenix and its connection to Atlanta...not a boring recant of historical facts (don't get me wrong, I love history), but a fantastical regaling of the rebirth of Atlanta!

Fire Artist| Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

Speaking of fiery events, there was also a roving barker and fire artist who put on a spectacular show! There's lots of entertainment, a bit of it roving, so keep your eyes out! 

Camels| Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

Be sure to check out the Skyline Garden, behind the Conservatory and Orchid Center, where you'll see a trio of traveling Camels, and if you're there for Cocktails in the Garden, there's another bar over there, that probably has the shortest line!

Faerie| Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

The sculptures are not the only magical creatures in the Garden! On one particular evening, there was a violin-playing faerie!

I don't know what other entertainment is planned for Cocktails in the Garden, but it's so far been absolutely fantastical! Do say "Hello!" and ask to make a photo with them...the entertainers have all been wonderfully friendly.

Woolly Mammoth | Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

While I love the dragon and the phoenix, the Woolly Mammoth is monumentally magnificent! And it's a natural fit in its Atlanta Botanical Garden habitat. 

Some of the creatures are seemingly hidden, but if you miss one going in one direction, you'll see it on your return. My recommendation is that you pick up an exhibition map upon arrival so that you're sure not to miss anything! 

Earth Goddess | Imaginary Worlds | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

We here in Atlanta have enjoyed Earth Goddess (Ice Goddess during the holiday lights show) and Shaggy Dog since the 2013 exhibition and they're as delightful as ever. 

If you're visiting Atlanta or going to the Garden for the first time for the first time in many years, Earth Goddess was one of the sculptures that we kept after that exhibition finished, like the three Chihuly glass sculptures we kept after their respective exhibitions.

Atlanta Botanical Garden Gainesville is in on the action, too! They're hosting the Ogre that we enjoyed a few years back. For a creature known to not have a terribly pleasant disposition, this Ogre is so much fun! Their exhibition is Imaginary Worlds: Ogre and Friends, some of the friends being Pandas!!!

Imaginary Worlds: Once Upon a Time | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

Imaginary Worlds: Once Upon a Time at the Atlanta Botanical Garden is a must-see to get a true sense of the wonders that Atlanta offers and Cocktails in the Garden, on Thursday evenings, is perfect for a date night, a get together with friends, and definitely for "something different" to do. See you there!

The Curious Garden...Horticulture Meets Art

If you're like I was, you might not immediately know what "The Curious Garden" is about,what it represents, what its intention is. Well, intent aside, this Atlanta Botanical Garden exhibition is absolutely fantastic! 

The 11 site-specific installations were created to not only help tell the story of the Garden's plant collections and conservation efforts, it's intended to provoke discussions and questions about nature...and it does exactly that, along with mesmerizing one with bold color, clever displays, and quite a few "curious" discoveries.

"The Curious Garden" | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

"dilating pupils" is my personal favorite of the 11 installations. For the first time since the the Canopy Walk opened in 2010, Garden visitors are akin to NYC tourists gazing at skyscrapers...all eyes up! And they're my favorite color, a stunning contrast to the surrounding ocean of green leaves.

The question this display begs is, "How deep and wide do the roots of these trees extend as water fuels their highest branch and leaf?" Ponder that knowing that these are some of Atlanta's oldest hardwoods.

The approximately two dozen discs and ovals in this display range in diameter from 4 feet to 15 feet...they're huge, and yet the float.

"The Curious Garden" | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

"chalices" is stunning! I first thought these bright, shining cylinders were made of various colors of acrylic or some other synthetic material, but they're tubes filled with colored water! Knowing that, this installation's name makes total sense, and makes it even more exquisitely elegant.

You'll find "chalices" in the Low Elevation Orchid Display House in the Fuqua Orchid Center. Be sure to meander through the entirety of this space...the orchids and other plantings are marvels in and of themselves.

"The Curious Garden" | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

"totems", a collection of approximately 40 purple columns, are interspersed throughout the Anne Cox Chambers Flower Walk that leads to the new Robinson Gazebo, which overlooks the new Skyline Garden. They're reflective of the Atlanta skyline, seen in the not-too-far distance.

"The Curious Garden" | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

The new Skyline Garden is mind-blowing spectacular! I've been visiting the Atlanta Botanical Garden since 1987, two years before the Conservatory opened. This transformation is absolutely remarkable. I think you'll find this garden as stunning as I do, even if you didn't see what it was before, which was great, but this is grand!

"floating fiddlehead" is an abstraction of fiddlehead ferns (which are edible) manifest as a French parterre garden, quietly floating on the Aquatic Plant Pond. This is only one of the stunning attributes of the new Skyline Garden, an area that once was an oft-missed part of the Garden today is a destination.  

"The Curious Garden" | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

"flora lab" is a rainbow of glass labware and plants that speak to the Garden's conservation efforts. Did you know that the Garden is deeply involved in orchid conservation, as well as amphibian conservation? Some of the plant species are so precious and rare that they're not on display. It's quite fascinating what goes on behind the scenes. 

If you're interested in learning more, about getting involved, volunteering is a great way to do just that! I volunteered here for 4.5 years as a docent and will forever cherish the connection to the Garden that experience afforded me.

Cocktails in the Garden is back!

For the last two summers, the Garden hosted "brilliant" exhibitions including a Chihuly exhibition marking the Garden's 40th anniversary last year. They were on display nearly every evening of the week. 

I've missed Cocktail in the Garden—Atlanta's favorite garden party—especially as a member...members get to attend Cocktails in the Garden free! It's a wonderful and fun way to explore our "oasis in the city" on a more frequent basis.

Never been to Cocktails in the Garden? You're missing out! Come to one soon because I'd bet that you'll want to come again (and again) before the end of October. 

What do you get? 

You get to see "The Curious Garden" during twilight, sunset, and after dark—the displays are dramatically lit! There is live music, cash bars, and games for grown-ups! And Longleaf, the Garden's onsite restaurant open only to Garden visitors, is serving a special dinner menu during Cocktails in the Garden. Reservations are recommended.

Come out and play Thursdays 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. It's free for members!

"The Curious Garden" | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

"the spirited bosk" is an installation that spans from the Fern Dell to The Great Lawn! You'll enjoy about 100 trees painted the colors of ice cream, some of them "planted" in rather surprising places.

Guest artist and designer of "The Curious Garden", Adam Schwerner is director of Disneyland Resort Horticulture & Resort Enhancement. He was previously director of the Chicago Park District's Department of Cultural and Natural Resources. As a person who spearheaded initiatives to increase the presence of art in city parks, he's an obvious natural for this year's spring/summer exhibition.

In a statement, Adam said, "All my life I have pursued my dual loves of art and horticulture. With this series of site-specific art installations and the gardens, there is a coming together of these two great pursuits."  

"The Curious Garden" | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

"antebellum aerophyte" is a multifaceted display that honors the agrarian South, at a time when "nature has won the battle". Again, the eyes are drawn skyward exploring the vast collection of crystal chandeliers overtaken by plant life.Located in the Fuqua Orchid Center's lobby, spend time here exploring...and ask questions! 

"The Curious Garden" | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

"sunflowers" is a field of neck-bending sunflowers planted in the Edible Garden, appropriately so. No matter what your favorite flower is, you can't deny an attention-worthy crop of sunflowers and you can't help but feel even a little joy at their sight. 

This installation is about the "sustainable South", which is awesome, but for me it's about bright, engaging color. It's about a more-than-strong connection with nature. I don't think even this year's rare total solar eclipse can dampen these bright, beautiful, sun-loving gems!

"The Curious Garden" | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

"the white garden" is a transformed Levy Parterre, where the famed blue Chihuly has called home and posed for an infinite number of photographs since 2004. This garden pays homage to the famed white garden at Sissinghurst Castle in England. I'm in love with the GIANT planters used in this display! 

This installation is nearly 100 percent white-flowering plants and complimentary foliage in varying shades of green, white, gray and silver. The plants on display will be refreshed twice per month during the run of the show, a nod to the Garden's conservation efforts.

"The Curious Garden" | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

"the mountain flows/the river sits" is another of my favorite installations. You will see an astounding collection of 1,200 painted gourds, all of them glossy red! They cover a generous portion of the rolling terrain of Storza Woods.

This installation is a nod to the art of painted gourds, common in the South. I've seen some incredibly elaborate painted gourds in my time, but I've never, ever seen so many!

There you go...a peek at this year's Atlanta Botanical Garden's must-see spring/summer exhibition. "The Curious Garden" will be on display through Sunday, October 29, 2017, including Thursday nights during Cocktails in the Garden!

You're curious now, aren't you?