8/19: Columbus, OH: The Can't Miss Franklin Park Conservatory & Botanical Gardens

We began our day in Ohio's capital city of Columbus by exploring the Governor's Mansion. It was surrounded by palatial homes, several of which would have looked right at home in the French countryside. 

Being big fans of botanical gardens, Steven and I headed next to the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. We hadn't realized ahead of time that the conservatory was home to a stunning collection of glass artwork by Dale Chihuly, nor that it was the largest private collection of Chihuly's art in a botanical garden. 

The Conservatory in Columbus became just the world's second botanical garden to host Chihuly's art. The exhibit was so popular that a local non-profit purchased his work for the Conservatory's permanent collection. The collection has been on a rotating view since the acquisition. 

We learned that over more than 50 years, Chihuly has explored new and old techniques while pushing the boundaries of contemporary glass art. He and his team of glassblowers were able to create glass art on a scale unknown beforehand.

In his Drawings exhibit, Chihuly used acrylic, watercolor, charcoal graphite, and even fire to create his two-dimensional artworks. 

Chihuly began his Venetian Series in 1988 after being inspired by Italian glassmaking and the vessel shape. He combined historical glassworking traditions and decorative arts with contemporary techniques and unconventional forms. 

Each piece in the Venetian Series was described as having "a character of its own with flamboyant attachments, sometimes humorous, and often organic."

Chihuly's Ikebana Series, begun a year later, takes its name and inspiration from the Japanese art of flower arrangement. Just as in the Japanese form, Chihuly focused on a careful assembly of multiple visual elements into a unified arrangement. The pieces were evidence of the artist's desire to have his glass pieces considered as large scale sculpture.  

As we entered the Tropical Rainforest Biome of the Conservatory, one of the first things we spotted was a Bhutan Weeping Cypress. It sparked our attention as months earlier Steven and I had started our four-month trip to Asia and Butan had been one of our destinations until the pandemic caught up with us just two weeks into our trip while in India and we were forced to return home. Our hope is to resume our trip next spring.

Growing on the wet rocks near the waterfalls were native Ohio mosses, just some of the 8,000 different kinds of moss in the world. I hadn't realized that scientists believe that mosses were among the oldest plants on earth and that they originated from algae growing in the ocean and then evolved to be one of the first land plants. 

Bird's Nest:

If we ever make it to the island of Madagascar, we hope to see a Dragon Tree in its native habitat.

The taper-like structure was called Neodymium and Green Grass. We came close to missing Chihuly's piece as the green spikes blended in so seamlessly.

I've heard of and seen lots of succulents but never Succulent Sesame before. Have you? I sure wouldn't have wanted to land in the middle of its jagged edges, that's for sure! It was part of the Desert Biome. 

Did you know that deserts cover more than a third of the earth's land surface and are found on every continent? Deserts, by definition, receive less than ten inches of yearly precipitation and can be either hot or cold depending on their location. 

Torchier was one of my favorite pieces at the Conservatory because of its electric colors. 

I sure wouldn't have wanted to land in the middle of these spiky succulents and the Madagascar Palm, also located in the Desert area!

In the Pacific Pond installation were Niijima Floats named after the Japanese fishing floats found in Tokyo Bay. Chihuly stated they reminded him of floats he found as a boy growing up by the ocean in Washington state. His lovely glass floats were created in 2003. 

As Chihuly experimented with making baskets, he began blowing glass into ribbed molds that reminded him of seashells. They became a new series called Seaforms as Chihuly loved the ocean.

We read that Chihuly has made incredible innovations to glass sculpture over the course of his long career. With the assistance of a team of glassblowers, he developed new techniques to create work on a scale that was altogether new in the field. Thanks to Chihuly, glass art has been recognized as a contemporary art form.

Next, we entered the conservatory's John Wolfe Palm House, named after a local civic leader and humanitarian in 2008. The 12,5000 square foot glass structure had been built in the style of the 1893 Glass Palace at Chicago's World Fair.

The Palm House was sublime but so dense with so many palms that we wondered if we may have missed any other glass sculptures in the vast space!

Outside the Palm House was Chihuly's sculpture called Red Reeds and Sunset Sprays.

The Bonsai Courtyard was designed for quiet reflection and enjoyment of the beauty of these living artworks. 

When we focused our gaze on the bonsai through the window, we read that we were experiencing "a bonsai in isolation, an image pulled from nature." As we looked closely at the trunk and the space between the branches and leaves, the bonsai revealed "the story of nature - permanence, endurance, and the slowing of time."

We discovered that up close the bonsai was a Fig Hybrid.

 

I hope that Steven and I will be able to see Japanese Red Pine trees in their natural habitat when we anticipate visiting Japan this fall.

I don't think I've ever considered a tree to be a work of art until we noticed this one in the Bonsai Garden. I think it was a Gingko but don't hold me to it!

From the Bonsai Garden, we had a marvelous view of the Palm House's cupola in the background. 

We entered the Pacific Island Water Garden after passing through the South Conservatory. You didn't think we were going to pass up on Annie's Pond, now did you?! It was obviously named after another Annie who had gifted the pond's Japanese Koi and an endowment fund for their care and support of their environment. The Franklin Park Conservatory's Koi Collection had originally been part of a backyard water feature of Anne Miller, a reconstructive surgeon, philanthropist, and art lover in Columbus. 

Am I the only one who hadn't realized before this that the Japanese word koi directly translates to carp?! In Japan, koi are known as 'living jewels' or 'swimming flowers. They live very long lives and have scales that can be counted like tree rings. When a study was done of one fish in 1965, Flower Maiden was found to be 226 years old and weighed 15 pounds when she died in 1977!

Blue Heroes:

This plant in the Himalaya Biome made me think of a moose's antlers!

Umbrella Flatsedge came from East Africa.  

Sunset Chandelier:

I loved the Showy Medinilla that came from the Philippines, another country that we didn't make it to last spring but hope to next year.

Almost hidden among the plants was Chihuly's Tranquil Blue Installation.

I think I liked the name of the Frangipani plant as well as the plant itself since it just rolled off my tongue!

The Himalayan Mountain Range spans 1,500 miles in Asia and is home to the smallest mountain in the world, Mt. Everest. I was sure glad we were visiting in the summertime because the windows in the room stay open all year so that plants that require cold temperatures in the winter can enter their dormant phase. Plant growth resumes in the spring. 

Outside was the Sculpture Garden but it consisted of sculpted plants, not objects!

On the border were lots of plantings of Ornamental Onions aka Allium.  

One of the most unusual plants were these Carnivorous plants called White Pitcher Plants that were native to North America. They thrive in their environment by eating insects for essential nutrients and luring their prey into their traps and slowly digest them!

Here were other varieties of pitcher plants:

The Brides' Garden was absolutely exquisite. We were lucky that there was no wedding occurring that day so we could enjoy all of its splendor. 

Even the stone gnome was following Covid-19 guidelines by wearing a mask!

This fun arch transported us to the Children's Garden.

The mighty lion guarded the entrance to the Children's Garden. It was made of 840 Carex flagellifera and Ficus pumila plants. Don't you just love its hairy mane!

Ohio's state bird, the Cardinal, was imagined here in a topiary form with the plumage of 272 Yin Red begonia plants. 

The Ohio Buckeye Tree was selected as the official state tree in 1953. They grow especially well along rivers, streams, and floodplains. They were named after the Native American word for the tree's nut, 'hetuck,' which meant 'buck eye' because the nut's markings resembled the ey of a deer. 

The Children's Garden was a multi-sensory space where fortunately people of all ages were welcome. How we'd have loved to have had either or both our granddaughters with us that day!

The largest animal to roam the land, the elephant, was represented in the form of 492 Ficus plants or creeping fig vines that grow quickly and cling to almost any surface. The white variegation gave it a hint of silver to simulate the elephant's coloring. 

This Blue Shadow plant would change to all colors of the rainbow through the seasons! How fun it'd be to return every season and see all the colors. 

I don't think I've ever spotted a Reading Garden in any other botanical garden. What a brilliant idea. 

The Water Paradise was certainly appropriately named that hot summer day!

The flamingo topiaries were an homage to the classic lawn ornament and to AmeriFlora '92, an international horticultural exhibition that was held at the Conservatory. The flamingos were each made of up to 240 Cocktail Gin begonias!

I had never known before that there was ever such a thing called Earth Art, also called Land Art or Environmental Art. I learned that it told the story of the environment in which it was created. In the practice of Earth Art, artists shape natural materials within the landscape to create a composition. Because the works of art are meant to be only temporary, they are then left intentionally exposed to the elements. The first Earth Art was created in the 1960s and 1970s when created by American and British artists before quickly spreading to other countries. It was initially closely tied to social issues including a heightened awareness of ecological issues. It made sense that earth artists rejected traditional art and white-walled urban galleries in favor of celebrating the power and beauty of nature. 

Butterflies are admired for their colorful wings. While 'real' butterflies are covered in thousands of tiny scales, this topiary butterfly consisted of 578 plants representing four varieties! 

A sign reminded us that flamingos were smart and we should therefore stay six feet apart in the age of Covid-19!

The state of Ohio had designated the pawpaw, the largest edible fruit that was native to the continent, as its state native fruit in 2009. Some pawpaw trivia for you: It grows wild throughout more than half the United States; there are towns and lakes named Pawpaw; Ohio had an annual pawpaw festival! Long before Europeans arrived in the Americas, Native Americans ate pawpaws that have a sweet, tangy flavor with the mellowness of a banana and the tang of a kiwi.

If we'd thought of how much Max and Clara would love the Children's Garden when they're older, I couldn't help but think the Paul Busse Garden Railway would have been the cat's meow for both of them! Busse's fascination with trains began when he was just a toddler and visiting his grandparents' neighbor who had constructed a small moving train in his backyard.

Navstar, the stainless steel sculpture, was commissioned as the centerpiece of AmeriFlora '92. I could see that it had achieved its stated goal of invoking sleek, billowing sail shapes appearing as ships on the horizon. The eastern-most sail pointed to the North Star and arced upward at a 40-degree angle which equaled Columbus' latitude! A time capsule, placed inside and due to be opened in 2092, included a letter entitled, 'Greetings from a Dead Mayor.'

The detail in the railway garden was almost mindblowing with every inch taken up of train bridges, and charming miniature gardens that delighted the child within.

When Steven and I moved to our home 31 years ago last month, we could regularly hear trains go by on Santa Fe about three miles away. It was a sound I always loved. With the passage of time and so-called 'progress' which has meant lots of development, we sadly only rarely now hear the trains that run up and down Santa Fe. 

That was why the constant sound of trains moving along the tracks, accompanied by train whistles, made me smile almost nonstop!

Paul Busse's botanical artwork was a celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Palm House we'd seen earlier. Busse and his team had exhibited at AmeriFlora '92 that had been hosted at Frankin Park and the Conservatory. In the intervening years, Busse had added numerous train displays at the Conservatory. 

A sign asked all 'train conductors' or visitors to please call a certain number if a train derailment was spotted!

Hear ye, hear ye - we couldn't touch the trains lest we disturb the princesses in the castle!

Only one person was allowed to enter the enchanted tree at a time!

This endearing collection was on loan from Busse's studio called Applied Imagination. Plant materials had been sustainably sourced from local forests: bits of tree bark were roof shingles, baby acorns became doorknobs, and vines served as railings. All were then glued to the structure and covered with a water-based finish so the plant material wouldn't break down.

This photo definitely warrants your clicking on it so you can see it in greater detail. It's too cute to miss in my opinion!

If you were a train aficionado, it'd be very hard to think of a more enchanting place to spend an hour or two with nine trains traveling in and out of gardens the entire time.

And, even if you don't care for trains, Columbus' Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Garden is a can't miss attraction in my mind. The Chihuly glass works were worth a visit just by themselves; then add in the Palm House, the carnivorous plants, the cute-as-can-be Children's Garden, and the topiary animal figures and I defy you to come up with a garden that has so many superb features!

Next post: Another, but altogether different topiary garden based on a famous French painting!

Posted on February 13th, 2021, from Denver's burbs on the coldest day in years. I hope you will stay warm and safe in these challenging times.