the Curious Garden
The Curious Garden
Installation Sites
1. the spirited bosk/Painted Trees at Piedmont Ave entrance and in formal gardens
The celebration of trees features about 100 cut trees painted in the colors of ice cream, a tempting
cooldown on summer days, and placed at the Garden entrance and throughout the formal
gardens from the Fern Dell to the Great Lawn. Most are set in the ground, while others are in
surprising locations, such as containers and even within existing trees. The painted trees
announce that something is happening and give visitors pause to consider the many stories that
trees tell.
2. the white garden/Levy Parterre
Enter a spectacular celebration of white in the garden. The palette consists of nearly 100 percent
white-flowering plants, and complimentary foliage selections in various shades of green and white
variegation. This beautiful garden stands as an homage to the famed white garden at Sissinghurst
Castle in England. Among the plantings, look for the white pitcher plant Sarracenia leucophylla,
which is one focus of the Garden's conservation program, growing the species for reintroducing it
to the wild. This garden, designed by Adam Schwerner and Alex Smith Garden Design, and
freshened twice a month with new plant selections, highlights the Garden’s mission in creating
beautiful plant displays as well as conservation and research.
3. flora lab/Conservatory Lobby
Cases of glass labware filled with colored water and plants beckon the visitor to linger and explore
unusual and unexpected plant selections and learn about the behind-the-scenes work of the
Garden in scientific research and conservation. Some of the selections are from the Garden’s own
collections and illustrate the full growing cycle of the plant from tissue culture through mature
flowering plant, as seen in the on-siteTissue Culture Lab. Others are rare selections that have never
been on public display at the Garden.
the Curious Garden
4 . chains/Conservatory Rotunda
A variety of multi-colored chains, varying in diameter from 2 to 5 inches (the largest custom cast
specifically for the exhibition) draws the eye to the Conservatory’s glass ceiling, where plants reach for
the sun. The chains harken to the droopy vines and root systems of plants in the tropical rainforest –
and highlighting the Conservatory’s renowned collection, including the Cissus plant with roots that
extend from ceiling to floor.
5. antebellum aerophyte/Orchid Center Atrium
Hanging columns of tillandsias, vintage chandeliers overtaken with plants, and beds and materials
evocative of Southern vernacular architecture salute the Conservatory’s rich plant collection, housed in
the once agrarian South. Look for the aerial roots of orchids, Philodedron and Anthuriums that form an
elegant, though all-encompassing, complement to man’s work – a setting where nature has won the
battle.
6. chalices/Orchid Center Low Elevation House
Hanging columns of orchids, clear tubes filled with colored water, and beautiful plants – simply for the
sake of nature’s beauty – bring the indoor science-themed journey full circle, immersing the visitor in
art.
7.sunflowers/Edible Garden
Hundreds of sunflowers, underplanted with colorful cosmos, celebrate the sustainable South, serving up
not only edible seed heads but also a brightly colored meadow of sheer beauty.
8.totems/Skyline Garden
Some 40 purple totems interspersed throughout the Anne Cox Chambers Flower Walk draw the eye to
the cool oasis of the new Robinson Gazebo and beyond, reflecting the rectilinear shapes of the Midtown
and downtown skylines.
9. floating fiddlehead/Skyline Garden
This elegant abstraction of a French parterre anchoring the Aquatic Plant Pond features bold, curvilinear
patterns of lawn, low-growing plants and colorful mulches on the flat plane of water, which reflects the
sky and the garden’s tropical flowers and foliage.
10.dilating pupils/Kendeda Canopy Walk
About two dozen red discs and ovals, ranging in diameter from 4 feet to 15 feet, appear to float overhead
as visitors round the bend in the Canopy Walk, drawing their attention skyward to the leafy,
magnificent canopies of some of Atlanta’s oldest, largest and most storied hardwoods. Their majestic
vertical architecture prompts one to ponder just how deep and wide their roots extend as water fuels their
highest branch and leaf.
11. the mountain flows, the river sits/Storza Woods
Some 1,200 gourds painted glossy red lounge randomly along the dry streambed in the woodland garden,
spilling under the Imlay Bridge. They highlight the eclectic practice of gourd art in the South while
emphasizing the beautiful rolling terrain of Storza Woods, one of Atlanta’s last remaining hardwood
forests.