Imaginary Worlds: Alice’s Wonderland
About the Exhibition in Atlanta
May 11 – Oct. 27, 2019: Follow Alice down the rabbit hole with new creations in the Skyline Garden and more.
The exhibition of giant topiary-like plant sculptures at both the Midtown and Gainesville gardens, is back by popular demand after last summer’s blockbuster show, Imaginary Worlds: Once Upon a Time. Many of last year’s crowd-favorite sculptures will make a comeback – but donning coats of different plant palettes.
Making encore appearances from 2018 are the Dragon, Mammoth, Mermaid, Phoenix, Camels and Pegasus – many sporting all-new plantings.
New in Atlanta, 2019
In Atlanta, a giant White Rabbit towers at more than 27 feet tall as it floats inside an upside-down umbrella in the Skyline Garden pond. That tops even the Garden’s resident Earth Goddess sculpture, at 22 feet. On the Skyline lawn is an expansive chess board bordered by nine heart “trees” each more than 12 feet tall, with a giant Cheshire Cat poised nearby. Alice herself is on hand – just elsewhere in the Garden.
PLANTING
Once positioned in the greenhouse to receive the most sunlight, the frames are stuffed with a planting medium,
an internal irrigation system is attached and thousands of plants are “plugged.”
It takes several weeks for the growth to yield colorful, living textures. Most of the color comes more from foliage and less from blooms.
INSTALLING
Large semi-trucks, cranes and smaller equipment are used to move the sculptures from the greenhouse to their positions in the Garden. Several weeks are required to install the exhibition including all sculptures and plantings around them.
MAINTAINING
The living sculptures are maintained daily by the horticulture team to keep them thriving and healthy. Visitors may observe staff at work meticulously shearing the pieces, as constant grooming is needed to maintain the sculptures’ artistic lines.
Friends of Dearborn Park 