Garden Photo of the Day

Chihuly glass at NYBG

Photo/Illustration: All photos courtesy of Donna Beaton

Good morning, everyone! Today’s photos are from Donna Beaton in northern New Jersey. She’s taking us on a visit to the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, where she saw the Chihuly Glass exhibit a few years ago.

She says, “These photos are from a 2006 installation at the New York Botanical Garden. The gardens are a treat themselves, but the Chihuly pieces added a whole new dimension. The installations have gone in many public gardens, all with a different twist, dictated by the structures and plantings.”

If there’s one thing I noticed while out in Seattle this spring, it’s that people cannot get enough of Dale Chihuly! These are gorgeous shots, Donna. That first one is spectacular!! Thanks for sharing them.

>>>>>>>> ONE MORE THING!
For every paper issue of the magazine we publish, we also send out a survey to random subscribers to get their reactions. It’s so much fun for us editors to see which articles were especially popular, which ones flopped, and what people have to say in the comments. We absolutely LOVE hearing from you guys. Well, we just got the survey results back from the survey on the March/April 2014 issue, and we found the coolest comment ever that I think you guys will love:

“I am a new subscriber… and as you can tell – I am in LOVE with Fine Gardening!! Thank you for such quality and beauty… I am also a devoted follower of the Garden Photo of the Day. I open it every day here at my school – I am a school nurse! I have several students that must visit the clinic each day, and they have begun asking “Miss Kim, what is the garden photo of the day??!!” Such fun! Thank you!!!”

So darned cool! Big shout out to Miss Kim and her students! Helloooooo out there! We’re so happy you like the blog!

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Comments

  1. flowerladydi 03/21/2014

    Thank you Donna for sharing this! The glass is Fabulous!!! What an artist he is!,,, it is so much fun, so unique and one can't help but just marvel at it all! LOVE the boats!,,, the last one reminds me of a garden full of squashes and gourds,, with some zucchini placed here and there!,,, I would so love to see all this! I am sure you truly enjoyed your visit to the gardens!

    And,, how great is the comment from ' Miss Kim '!,,, and even greater that she is introducing all this to the students at her school!, they will undoubtedly have an even great appreciation of the gardening world after being exposed to it through this. Great job Michelle for this creation!!

  2. User avater
    meander_michaele 03/21/2014

    Sigh, Chihuly glass, so totally magical and mesmerizing! Love your observation, flowerladydi, about the last picture reminding you squashes and gourds.
    Ha, if the glass sculpture thing hadn't worked out as career for Dale Chihuly, he could have tried his hand at being a children's party clown 'cause he would have made the most amazing balloon animals...he's the master of whimsical and fantastical shapes and color combos!

    Hello to 'Miss Kim' and her students!

  3. PAdesigner 03/21/2014

    Wow, wow, wow! Thanks so much for sharing these photos. I too love Chihuly glass. What an imagination. It just lifts the spirits and makes you smile. There is an amazing Chihuly glass chandelier at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Thanks to Miss Kim. I worry that future generations won't be into gardening. This will help!

  4. Quiltingmamma 03/21/2014

    My hat off to Miss Kim for inspiring potential gardeners of the future. Particularly if city kids, they may have little to no exposure to it in real life. Good for her.
    I love Chihuly. Finally saw a full showing of his in Montreal last year and have seen partial garden installations but missed the large ones. His glass seems to be made for gardens even though his over the top Venetian style chandeliers are great indoor pieces. The bronzy green ones in the coleus is particularly blended but stunning. However, is it just me that wonders whether he reuses and rearranges pieces for each of his big shows? Is it new or repurposed? A lot of these pieces look very familiar and clearly the shapes have been done before, and before. I know, it shouldn't matter as they are so lovely, but it did strike me.
    Thanks Donna for sharing these visions of colour and movement on this snowy (sigh) Friday.

  5. tractor1 03/21/2014

    Oh, WOW... the last time I was at the New York Botanic Garden was a lifetime ago, has to be some 60 years since... I'm sure there must have been many changes. I will check out their web site to refresh my memory. Back then a ten year old could safely ride the subways all over NYC alone and I certainly did, was only a nickel then... rode my bicycle throughout all the boroughs too. All that glass sculpture is mesmerizing, I love that boatload of produce. But my favorite is of those fantasia flamingos emerging, 4th down on the right. Thank you for the memories, Donna.

    And it's heartening to know Miss Kim is introducing youngsters to gardening and they're appreciative... there's still hope. Michelle, today you outdid yourself, thank you.

  6. user-7006902 03/21/2014

    This is on my list of botanical gardens to visit but I don't exactly enjoy big cities anymore. Top it off with Chihuly - oh good day! Thank you for sharing - a good scratch for that impossible to reach gardening itch here in North Country. Beautiful!

  7. User avater
    HelloFromMD 03/21/2014

    The aquatic display, the blue 'octopus' and the the orange 'flowers' are my favorites. I love blown glass.
    We should do a special GPOD of art in the garden. Adding art to the garden really makes it personal.

  8. hontell 03/21/2014

    I have been to the NYBG many times, but the Chihuly glass was magical. My wife and took my parents, and we spent the whole day exploring every corner of the gardens, the glass was everywhere. Just fantastic. There was a show on PBS on Chihuly and how he designs and makes his glass art. Really great if you can find it.
    H

  9. janeeliz 03/21/2014

    OH my goodness...how gorgeous it all is! He surely has the soul of a gardener! Just imagine the fun of 'planting' all those wonderful pieces ...I see sumptuous plant shapes in just about all of them. The overflowing vegetable boat reminds me of island shopping at its best. How I'd love to see his exhibit! Thanks for posting.

  10. GrannyMay 03/21/2014

    Chihuly's glass creations are amazing! Wherever they are put, they transform the area into something even more beautiful, yet their organic flows make them fit naturally into garden settings. Beautiful! Thank you, Donna, for sharing - your photos are wonderful and do the exhibit justice!

    Thank you Miss Kim. Gardening is a healer, so appropriate for a nurse to introduce to her patients.

  11. wildthyme 03/21/2014

    I just have to echo the other comments . . . Chihuly is amazing, and to think I first saw his work on this blog! And QuiltingMama I'm sure you're right about seeing these same pieces elsewhere. I would bet that certain pieces of his work go from place to place as parts of a specific exhibit . . . until someone buys it and then you won't see it anymore. At these prices, though, that probably won't happen for a long time!

    And I was delighted to see Miss Kim's comment. I've been looking for ways to get the local kids interested in gardening and it's always a challenge.

  12. Debra2002 03/21/2014

    Test

  13. MissKimmy 03/21/2014

    Hey everyone!! "Miss Kim" here! Was sooo excited to see my survey comments posted here this am! Thank you Michelle for this blog - I meant every word of my comments - it is soo much fun each day!!! And also "thank you" to everyone for all the really nice responses!! I really love being a school nurse - and for the children that have to be with me day in and day out for medical issues - it's sooo cool to be able to have a lighthearted moment with them to look at something really pretty - and talk about what we see in the photo!!

    It's been a busy day here at my little school - but now all the kiddos are on their way home - so now I can grab a chance to respond. I open the blog up early each morning before we have students in the building, and then choose one really great picture to enlarge and sort of use as a "wallpaper"!! (Hope I use the terms correctly - a techie I am not!! And I have never blogged before - wow!!)

    The children really caught on to this quickly - as they do everything!! Their favorite so far is the photo of the little frog in the daylily in the Jan. 14th, 2014 group of photos by Lynn Nehring. Oh my gosh y'all - they just flipped on this one!! We have had the best time talking about how she got there...how she looks like she's smiling... and what daylilies are and how the bloom lasts one day.(Can you tell my school is Pre-K through 5th Grade??!!) I still put this picture up most every day - if I don't - I hear about it.

    Anyway - thank you to all of the great gardeners that send in the most awesome pictures... and to the folks that respond each day - I really enjoy your messages! Very special to me!

    Oh, the children really loved the Chihuly glass pictures today - "Miss Kim... are you SURE that's glass??? How'd he do that Miss Kim ??" Thank you Donna!!

    Well, we've hit the "big time" down here in southeastern Virginia! The children thank you all!! Kim :)

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