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The exhibition of giant topiary-like sculptures is back by popular demand

Visitors are sure to think they’ve fallen down a rabbit hole this May when Imaginary Worlds: Alice's Wonderland springs to life at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. The exhibition of giant topiary-like plant sculptures, presented May 11 – October 27 at both the Midtown and Gainesville gardens, is back by popular demand after last summer’s blockbuster show, Imaginary Worlds: Once Upon a Time.  Featured are 16 installations of 38 individual sculptures, and many of last year’s crowd-favorites will make a comeback – some donning coats of different plant palettes than before. “The focus of the new show clearly is Alice and many in the cast of characters from Lewis Carroll’s classic novel,” Garden President & CEO Mary Pat Matheson said.  “But what will no doubt blow visitors away is the sheer size of these sculptures.” A giant White Rabbit, for example, 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 10 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.  Who’s up for the challenge of finding her? Making encore appearances from 2018 are the Dragon, Mammoth, Mermaid, Phoenix, Camels, and Pegasus – many sporting all-new plantings.  At the Gainesville Garden, look for a return of the friendly Ogre along with Rip van Winkle, Bears, and Frogs. The Garden first introduced guests to Imaginary Worlds in 2013 when it presented the United States’ first major exhibition of mosaiculture – the horticultural art of creating giant sculptures using steel forms covered in thousands of living plants.  Mosaiculture is the creative genius of International Mosaiculture of Montreal®, a nonprofit group that has staged wildly successful exhibitions of its work around the world. The organization hosted its first major exhibition and competition in Montreal in 2000 to celebrate the Millennium and proved an instant hit with 1 million visitors.  Since then, it has extended its reach by participating in major exhibitions in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hamamatsu, Japan. In Atlanta, visitors may explore the new exhibition during evening hours every Thursday at Cocktails in the Garden, when the sculptures are dramatically lit.  Imaginary Worlds is presented with support from The Home Depot Foundation.

It's Time Again! Cocktails in the Garden!

Atlanta's favorite after-hours social returns.

Atlanta's favorite after-hours social returns this spring! Explore the city’s lush urban oasis in the cool of the evening on Thursdays from May through September as Cocktails in the Garden returns to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. As an after-hours social for young professionals, a romantic date night for couples, or simply a fun friends’ outing for still others, the event – dubbed “social irrigation” – offers specialty drinks from full cash bars, deejays and live entertainment, and games and other activities.  Set for 5:30 – 9:30 p.m., Cocktails in the Garden also is the only opportunity for experiencing the Garden in the evening, when the cooler temperatures at twilight cast the Garden’s thousands of beautiful flowers in a whole different light while drawing out their fragrance. In addition, guests may explore the Garden’s exhibition, Imaginary Worlds, featuring giant topiary-like sculptures made of mosaiculture, all set to a storybook theme.     Finally, guests may round out the evening with a scrumptious dinner at the Garden’s Longleaf restaurant. Reservations are recommended. For information, visit atlantabg.org.

Atlanta Botanical Garden Cocktails in the Garden Returns!

Atlanta's favorite after-hours social returns this spring! Explore the city’s lush urban oasis in the cool of the evening on Thursdays, May 11 – September 28, as Cocktails in the Garden returns to the Atlanta Botanical Garden after a two-year hiatus. As an after-hours social for young professionals, a romantic date night for couples, or simply a fun friends’ outing for still others, the event – originally dubbed “social irrigation” – offers specialty drinks from full cash bars, deejays, and live entertainment and games and other activities. Set for 6 – 10 p.m., Cocktails in the Garden also is the only opportunity for experiencing the Garden in the evening, when the cooler temperatures of twilight cast the Garden’s thousands of beautiful flowers and plants in a whole different light and draw out their fragrances. In addition, guests may explore the Garden’s 2017 outdoor art exhibition, The Curious Garden, featuring a dozen installations designed to focus attention on the wonders of nature, including trees, plants, and entire gardens.    “We are thrilled to bring Cocktails back after two years while we were presenting two of our summer exhibitions at night,” said Mary Pat Matheson, the Garden’s President & CEO.  “This is the perfect year to do it because after years of expansion and renovations we are proud to show off all of those new enhancements, so it’s like we’re declaring 2017 as our ‘year of the garden’.” To emphasize those gardens, Cocktails will move to different areas of the botanical garden each month – from May through September – each with its own theme, featured alcohol, and specialty cocktail.  In May, for example, the event will take place in the new Skyline Garden with the theme “Spiked” highlighting the many thorned cacti, yuccas, and agaves planted there.  Complementing that theme will be tequila and margaritas. Finally, guests may round out the evening with a scrumptious dinner at the Garden’s new Longleaf restaurant.  Reservations are recommended. Admission for Cocktails in the Garden is $21.95 per person; Garden members are admitted for free.  For information, visit atlantabg.org.

It's That Time Again - Cocktails in the Garden!

Atlanta's favorite after-hours social returns this spring! Explore the city’s lush urban oasis in the cool of the evening on Thursdays, May 11 – September 28 as Cocktails in the Garden returns to the Atlanta Botanical Garden after a two-year hiatus. As an after-hours social for young professionals, a romantic date night for couples, or simply a fun friends’ outing for still others, the event – originally dubbed “social irrigation” – offers specialty drinks from full cash bars, deejays and live entertainment, and games and other activities. Set for 6 – 10 p.m., Cocktails in the Garden also is the only opportunity for experiencing the Garden in the evening, when the cooler temperatures of twilight cast the Garden’s thousands of beautiful flowers and plants in a whole different light and draw out their fragrances. In addition, guests may explore the Garden’s 2017 outdoor art exhibition, The Curious Garden, featuring a dozen installations designed to focus attention on the wonders of nature, including trees, plants, and entire gardens.     “We are thrilled to bring Cocktails back after two years while we were presenting two of our summer exhibitions at night,” said Mary Pat Matheson, the Garden’s President & CEO.  “This is the perfect year to do it because after years of expansion and renovations we are proud to show off all of those new enhancements, so it’s like we’re declaring 2017 as our ‘year of the garden’.” To emphasize those gardens, Cocktails will move to different areas of the botanical garden each month – from May through September – each with its own theme, featured alcohol and specialty cocktail.  In May, for example, the event will take place in the new Skyline Garden with the theme “Spiked” highlighting the many thorned cacti, yuccas, and agaves planted there.  Complementing that theme will be tequila and margaritas. Finally, guests may round out the evening with a scrumptious dinner at the Garden’s new Longleaf restaurant.  Reservations are recommended. Admission for Cocktails in the Garden is $21.95 per person; Garden members are admitted for free.  For information, visit atlantabg.org.

Cocktails in the Garden! - Atlantical Botanical Gardens

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Explore the city’s most beautiful urban oasis during the cool of summer evenings at Cocktails in the Garden Thursdays during May through September. The Atlanta Botanical Garden’s weekly “social irrigation” party is the only opportunity to experience the fantasy of Imaginary Worlds Plants Larger Than Life at night.

 

Guests enjoy specialty cocktails, live music from the city’s hottest deejays, and tantalizing cooking demonstrations by the Garden Chef every week from 6 - 10 p.m. While strolling the Garden’s gorgeous grounds they’ll encounter 19 gigantic living plant sculptures that make up the summer exhibition of Imaginary Worlds.

 

The pieces resemble giant topiaries but actually are works of mosaiculture - the centuries-old horticultural art of using thousands of tiny plants to cover steel forms in a mosaic-like carpet to create a living sculpture. Designed and built by International Mosaiculture of Montreal®, the sculptures have never been shown in the United States and include fantasy-themed pieces, such as a grazing unicorn, towering cobras, a friendly ogre, and a giant 25 foot tall earth goddess.

 

Each month during Cocktails in the Garden, these fantasy sculptures are highlighted with themed drinks:

 

May: Social Butterflies

June: Snake Juice

July: Drink Like a Fish

August: Hair of the Dog

September: Magic Martinis

 

In addition, cash bars offer an array of other cocktails, beer and wine, and dinner may be purchased at MetroFresh in the Garden café. As the only opportunity to stroll the Garden at night - when romantic sunsets and fragrant blossoms cast an alluring spell - Cocktails in the Garden is both the perfect date night and a fun outing among friends as well. Admission is $18.95; Garden members free.

 

*The mission of the Atlanta Botanical Garden is to develop and maintain plant collections for display, education, research, conservation and enjoyment. The Garden is located at 1345 Piedmont Ave. NE in Midtown. Garden hours are Tuesday - Sunday, November-March from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and April-October from 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. (Thursdays till 10 p.m.). Admission is $18.95 adults, $12.95 children 3-12, free to children under 3 and Garden members. For more information visit atlantabotanicalgarden.org or call 404.876.5859.