Chihuly in the Garden, Atlanta Botanical Garden, 2016

Last week a friend and I visited the Atlanta Botanical Garden to see the garden and the beautiful art of Dale Chihuly. This beautiful piece hangs inside the main building in the garden. I think it may stay there full-time, seems like I’ve seen it there on previous trips.

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This is another piece that I think remains in the garden year round. Isn’t it beautiful!

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This shaggy dog topiary made me laugh, loved it so much! 🙂atlanta-botanical-garden-chihuly-in-the-garden-32

 

This was the display in the Japanese garden. Wonder if the Great Blue Heron was inspiration for these pieces?

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Every now and then we’d come across a piece that just made you gasp! You can see how large it is by comparing it to the trees nearby!

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You can just barely see one of the volunteer gardeners at work in this photo. There were several working the day we visited.

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Beautiful! This piece is on the front page of Chihuly’s website here: Chihuly

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That’s the Garden Canopy Walk visible there in the background. It’s fun to walk across and look down on the garden. Let’s go up onto the Canopy Walk and look down on this part of the garden.

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This must be how we look to birds. 🙂

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Love this whimsical garden gate! Their long tails actually create the gate. So wonderful! Notice the little guy perched atop the gate post.

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This was so stunning and really HUGE. Photos don’t do it justice!

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Does anyone know what plant this is? We kept seeing it in the garden and it was beautiful, but I  never could find a sign for it. Many of the plants in the garden are labeled.

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I loved this hedge.

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It was covered in cute, mini-pomegranates and the sign said that it’s Lythraceae, aka “Dwarf Pomegranate.” I wonder if they are edible.

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There’s a greenhouse at the Atlanta Botanical Garden and as you walk into it, you see this gorgeous display of Chihuly art. So beautiful!

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There were a lot of pretty orchids inside the greenhouse.

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I loved this polka-dot plant!

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This was amazing! These long, long “things” were hanging down from the roof.

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There was a sign nearby explaining what they were. Amazing, huh?!

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Just as we passed underneath them, a sprinkler came on, adding more moisture to the greenhouse.

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Back outside again in another part of the garden we saw this off in the distance.

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Here’s how that huge waterfall above looked when standing at the top. Those are coins in the water.

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I noticed lights on many of the Chihuly pieces as we were walking through the garden. You could tell they were lit, but you couldn’t really appreciate that feature in the daylight.

After I got home and was sorting through all my photos, I noticed this piece looked different in every photo I took of it. That’s when I realized it was lit up in sections. In each of my photos, a different section would be lit, sometimes the bottom, sometimes the middle and sometimes the top.

In this photo below, it must have been transitioning because both the bottom and middle sections are lit. Can you see that in the photo…how much more orange the bottom and middle sections are than the top? The garden has to be absolutely stunning at night with all the Chihuly art aglow!

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This was my favorite spot in the garden. There was a sign nearby describing this as the “Earth Goddess.”

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It has been a few years since I last visited the garden and I don’t remember seeing her before. I wonder if I just missed her or if she was added in the last few years.

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This Chihuly piece must be stunning at night. I bet it looks as if the water is on fire!

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I love her long, flowing locks. Do you see the water pouring from her hand?

 

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It’s as if she has dipped her hand into the water and the water is flowing out from her hand. I just love her!

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Hope you enjoyed this tour of the Atlanta Botanical Garden and the lovely art of Dale Chihuly. If you have an opportunity, go see it in person before the Chihuly Exhibit ends. It would be hard to say which is best, to see it during the daytime or at night. I would love to have done both! Maybe I’ll go back some evening before the beautiful Chihuly art is removed. I would love to see it all aglow!

Pssst: Take a tour of the Atlanta Botanical Garden lit at night on a previous visit I made near Christmastime one year in this post: Garden Lights, Holiday Nights

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Comments

  1. Tammy Winterrowd says

    The plant you were wondering about grows around our house here in Texas……we call it beauty berry bush. The clusters of purple berries are so bright and pretty.

    I enjoyed your garden pictures and always enjoy your blog posts.
    Tammy

  2. Hi Susan, I live in south Georgia but would definitely like to plan a trip to the botanical garden. The plant that you couldn’t identify looked like a beauty berry bush. Usually the berries are a bright violet color. Those berries look pale. It was all amazing.

  3. Jennifer Rambo says

    Beauty Berry is correct. The berries turn deep purple. It is a great bush year round.

  4. The main one in Seattle can be seen online. Lovely!Great garden to stroll through.

  5. Wow – what a strange coincidence: last thursday my husband took a day off, as his mother and her sister had been visiting all week and took us to The Franklin Park Conservatory. There were many gorgeous D Chihuly glassworks there as well. I had seen many in the Columbus Museum of art many years ago, but not seen at the FPC. It was a gorgeous place, and his bright beautiful glass art was amazing in the green settings of the botanicals, too.

    I didn’t take in my purse, so didn’t take any pictures to share. Bad blogger that I am these days. I remember my head because it is attached, haha.

    Your Atlanta Botanical Gardens = a place I would love to see myself! Beautiful!

  6. Nancy of Lake Stevens says

    Susan, one of the most breathtaking Chihuly exhibits is at the Seattle Aquarium where he has created sea creatures in glass. Here is a linkhttp://archive2.chihuly.com/seattle-aquarium_detail.aspx

    When our son was married at the Aquarium we set up the champagne table in front of the all white and iridescent exhibit. It was quit simply magical.

  7. We visited the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit in Seattle this summer. I love glass, and thoroughly enjoyed the extensive variety of his work there, both inside and in the garden. There were so many variations of color and texture and each section of the garden was planted with vegetation that complimented the art, or maybe it was the other way around?

    If you ever get to Seattle, be sure and visit, it’s right next to the Space Needle and there are some other attractions nearby also. The Cafe at the Chihuly exhibit has wonderful food also, if a little pricey.

    Thanks for the Atlanta tour. We have relatives near there and I will tell them about it.

  8. Nancy of Lake Stevens says

    that should be “quite”

  9. Love Chihuly. Visited the Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond several years back to see his beautiful glass sculptures. Gorgeous.
    Love seeing them again here. The garden at night is so beautiful.

  10. I’ve loved Chihuly glass since I saw a TV show about him years ago and then saw a small exhibit of his at our Boise Art Museum. Thank you so much for sharing your gorgeous photographs of this stunning garden exhibit. What a treat!

  11. You can go with me at night!!! And in the daytime, too!! I love the shaggy dog. I want one in my yard!!

  12. Thank you so much for posting the Chihuly exhibit in your Atlanta gardens. I’ve visited his museum in St. Petersburg more than once and can’t get enough of his work – although seeing it in this garden through your photos is such an organic experience. I would loved to have seen both the glass sculptures and the beautiful gardens themselves. In Indianapolis, where I live, there is a permanent giant piece hanging from the ceiling in the lobby of our Children’s museum and it never ceases to amaze me.

  13. Bunny Rogers says

    The combination of Chihuly’s art and the ABG is almost too much for me to assimilate! Both are so inspiring and have deeply personal meaning to me. I was a founding member of the garden and took my Master Gardener course there so many years ago.
    I would love to witness the actual installations of these fragile and one-of-a-kind pieces of art. I don’t know if my heart could take it! Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us.

  14. I’ve seen the Chihuly exhibit in Ohio and at the St. Louis Botanical Gardens.
    They are also stunning. Anytime you get a chance to see one of his exhibits, one must go!!! Blending his work in a nature setting or museum is amazing.

  15. Hi Susan

    What a wonderful tour! Amazingly I have seen two Chihuly Exhibits one in NY and one in Arizona and I expected they would be different because of the differences in climate and plantings, but now I see that they are ALL different and incredible… So glad you shared your tour with us today. Thanks so much,
    SheilaC

  16. I visited the Chihuly Gardens in Seattle this summer. It is fantastic! You must go see it. They also show a film showing how they assemble the pieces and show him at work, I haven’t visited the Atlanta Botanical Gardens but now I think I must. How long will it be there? I am about 2 hrs. north of Atlanta. I enjoy your blog so much; try not to ever miss one.

  17. The plant with purplish berries is and American Beautyberry. It is a native plant here in the South that is deer resistant and a good food source for birds.
    Thank you for the tour of the Chilhuly exhibit at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Your photos have convinced me to make the trip to Atlanta before the exhibit leaves the garden.

  18. I loved this posts. I need to visit that place. Your plant is a Berry Bush and gets huge. It’s so easy to start growing new ones. I have one that came from my grandmother’s bush.

  19. Susan,

    The pictures were fabulous, thanks for sharing them.

    Arlene

  20. So beautiful! Makes me want to go there myself.

  21. In 2013 and 2014 the Atlanta Botanical Garden had fabulous exhibits called “Imaginary Worlds” featuring mosaiculture, and the shaggy dog and Earth Goddess were part of those exhibits. They have both become permanent features at the garden. You can read about the exhibits here:

    http://atlantabg.org/about-us/news-blogs/exhibition-highlights/imaginary-worlds

    My husband and I went in 2013 and were so impressed with the displays. I did my own blog post about that visit:

    http://gafunkyfarmhouse.blogspot.com/2013/09/this-n-that-thursdays-imaginary-worlds.html

    I hope they do more mosaiculture exhibits in the future!

  22. His work is stunning. We lived on Camano Island in Washington and would go to Seattle from time to time. Visiting the glass district, we walked into his shop to buy some glass because I thought his work was beautiful. That was in 1989, he actually blew a piece for me, was the cashier and just talked and talked about glass blowing. Now, Dale is all over the world!! You should see what he did in Venice and Ireland. We also have a exhibit here in Oklahoma at the Oklahoma Museum of Art in OK City. Thank you for the Atlanta pics……..his art here in the USA is especially magnificent!

  23. Linda C in Seattle says

    I live in Seattle and have never been to see the gardens.
    Now I will have to go after seeing your beautiful post.
    Linda C in Seattle

  24. WOW!!! What a wonderful tour. I have long been an admirer of Chihuly art. He is truly a master. Thanks for sharing.

  25. Regality (aka The Quing) says

    Thank you for the lovely tour. Chihuly is a genius, isn’t he? Even though he hasn’t been able to actually create the work for quite a while, just his designs are inspiring. I’ve seen the ceiling at the Bellagio in Vegas and an exhibit of his work in San Francisco, but I would really love to visit the garden.

    I’m pretty sure that the polka-dotted plant is Begonia maculata ‘Whightii’.

  26. Barbara Wagner says

    Hi Susan,

    Thank you for sharing the beautiful Atlanta Botanical Garden. I’m also a WA. state resident & have enjoyed Chihuly’s art glass for years. He is originally from Tacoma, WA. – so, a local guy!
    The beauty berry is callicarpa ::https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callicarpa
    The berries are a gorgeous color in the fall.
    Love your blog!
    Barb W.

  27. Mary Richardson says

    Does anyone know the name of the bush that had the pomegranate looking fruit hanging from it?

  28. Susan,
    Dale Chihuly did a wall sculpture in the Kohl Center on the University of Wisconsin – Madison Campus. He was just emerging as an artist in glass. We were very lucky to have his work.

    http://photos.uc.wisc.edu/photos/125/view

    The gardens are magic, loved the pictures.

    rick

  29. We have a Chihuly chandelier in our Visitor’s Center stairway & there is a huge one in the Children’s museum in Indy. I saw his. Work a few years ago at Cheewood Gardens in Nashville TN & it was awesome…but nothing like this. Love the pictures!

  30. Just toured the Seattle Chihuly exhibit in late August- it is so impressive and stunning- my favorite thing we did on our vacation-took so many photos I’m thinking of making a calendar for myself just so I can keep looking at the pictures. Thank you for sharing yours!

  31. Susan, I so enjoyed seeing Chihuly’s Art in the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. I have admire his artistry for years and we were in Seattle this past June and visited Chihuly Garden and Glass. If you have time here is the link to my post on his museum! Pam @ Everyday Living

    http://everydayliving.me/2016/06/28/chihuly-garden-glass/

  32. ROBERTA HOLBROOK says

    Oh my goodness. I am sooo jealous! I have loved Chihuly’s work for years and love to see pictures of his pieces………they are absolutely fabulous. Thanks so much for sharing.

  33. Just stunning! I love his sculptures. Years ago we watched a television special on him and I have been in love ever since. This definitely has to go on my bucket list!

  34. I went to the Chihuly exhibit at the ATL Botanical Gardens in 2002, and am so pleased that a Chihuly exhibit is back at the Gardens this year. My daughter, granddaughter, and I went to see it a couple of weeks ago, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s really stunning, and I enjoyed your great photos. I’d love to see some of his other installations that your readers have mentioned, too!

  35. I loved his exhibit when it was in Dallas. This garden is amazing too!

  36. WOWEEEEEE! I have always known Atlanta Botanical Gardens is on my list to see someday—and now it has moved to the top of my list. Your photos are amazing, and the garden is spectacular…thanks so much for the tour!

  37. Wowza! What a gorgeous display of nature and art! I would absolutely love to visit someday. I did see some of the Chihuly pieces when I visited the botanical garden in Phoenix last year. They are fantastic!

  38. I loved the pictures of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and the Chihuly exhibit. When you went to the Gardens recently, how long did it take you to tour the garden? I want to go before the exhibit closes, but wanted to make sure that I allow adequate time to see the exhibit. Thanks for sharing this amazing place, Susan.

    • I’m not sure we saw everything because we sorta just meandered around without a real plan, but I would say you could easily see the gardens in 2-3 hours. You may want to do what we did which was see part of the garden, stop for lunch at one of the restaurants inside the garden and then continue seeing the rest. We ate in Linton’s and it was great! If you’re going to stop for lunch, I would allow 4 hours so you won’t have to be rushed during your lunch.

    • Becky, one more thing to consider: I have a friend coming into town in a few days so I called down to the garden to ask what would be the best way for us to see it both during the day and at night. I was wondering if we would need to purchase two tickets, one for the daytime and one for night.

      The nice person I spoke with made an excellent suggestion. He said the nighttime ticket is for 6pm to 10pm (I think he said 10pm). So he suggested arriving around 6pm and purchasing the nighttime ticket since it doesn’t get dark until around 7:30. That would give my friend a chance to see it during the day and also see the Chihuly pieces lit up at night. So that’s what we’ll be doing.

  39. Wow, how absolutely gorgeous, Susan! I think these installations are better than those displayed in Seattle, which I also enjoyed tremendously. It looks like you had such fun!

  40. I’ve been lucky enough to see Chihully exhibits twice, in beautiful locations. Once in Pittsburgh, and again at Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Miami. It never gets old!

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