Sunday, May 31, 2015

Hey, Hey, Hydrangias

One of the must-see attractions for anyone visiting or living in Edmonton, Alberta, is the Muttart Conservatory.  Four glass pyramids in the river valley house amazing displays of plants from around the world.

Photo and following text is copied from the Muttart Conservatory website

The Muttart Conservatory is unique at first sight. This innovative botanical garden sets the pace for plant science in western Canada and defines Edmonton’s skyline with striking glass pyramids rising from river valley.
Inside the pyramids, three biomes are in the Conservatory’s year-round displays. A fourth pyramid houses creative feature displays, changing up to eight times a year. As an accredited museum, the Muttart Conservatory preserves and grows one of Canada’s largest botanical collections, and shares knowledge and enthusiasm with visitors.
About a month ago my friend Mickey and I visited the Muttart again.  The fourth pyramid was featuring a Love in Paris theme and was filled with hundreds of hydrangeas of every color.  Lloyd and I planted our first hydrangea in our back yard last summer and we loved it.  I'd like to get another one this year.
Here are some of the beauties we saw at the Muttart:









I just had my iPhone with me so the pictures aren't as good as if I had my Canon camera, but you can get a sense of the beauty of the flowers and displays.
Of course we had to visit the other pyramids specializing in tropical, arid, and temperate flora.  I will let you guess which one each pictures belong to. (I just say that because I can't remember!)
This is Mickey.  She remembered to bring her
serious camera.





A very strange tree in the tropical biome.


I wish I knew what this beauty is


There's koi in the pond in this one.



In the main foyer there's a beautiful glass hanging reminiscent of
Dale Chihuly's work.  I should have made note of the artist's name.

A close-up shows that it's an underwater scene
with sea life 'floating' around the center figure.
Very beautiful.
 So, the next time you're in Edmonton, be sure to spend an afternoon at the Muttart Conservatory. No matter what season, it's always full of beautiful plants and flowers and well worth the time spent.

5 comments:

Mickey said...

One of my favourite places to visit in Edmonton as the
theme pyramid changes several times a year.
Love, love all your flower photos! It was spring and
the blooms were plentiful!
Too bad wewere too late to enjoy the lovely Cafe.

BB said...

Absolute stunning photos. Can't imagine the real thing!!

TARYTERRE said...

What exquisite flowers. The Muttart Conservatory with those four glass pyramids looks like a place you could get lost in and never want to leave. Loved hearing about it.

TARYTERRE said...

PS) your photos are lovely. Your phone did a marvelous job.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

I do love hydrangeas and have two in my back yard. It's way too early for any blossoms though. Enjoyed seeing the ones there and all the other plants too.