Supernatural in the Garden

SUPERnatural: Aerial Art in Motion, Glass Art in Bloom features a custom-created “skynet” billowing in the air above Atlanta Botanical Garden's Storza Woods like a flock of multi-colored birds, while over-scale glass floral sculptures blossom throughout the more formal gardens. The skynet, called “Dream Flora”, on display through Sept. 19, is an experiential aerial sculpture by Patrick Shearn of Los Angeles-based Poetic Kinetics, known for its large-scale works of public art; the contemporary glass art is the creation of Seattle artist Jason Gamrath, presented through Oct. 31.

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Close inspection of the Supernatural skynet reveals that it is made of umbrella/parachute-type material.  The material is cut into strips and suspended from a mesh of what looks like fishing line.  Now I've got to try and construct one of these over my koi pond.  The intermittent rain and wind only added to the experience, first making the art move then allowing light rain to drip from the fabric.  This is a very special piece and one of the best that Atlanta Botanical Garden has featured in recent years.

Perhaps the most dramatic display of Supernatural in the Garden along with Glass Art in Bloom is where the woods transition to the formal gardens.  Here the skynet seems to plunge from the treetops over these dramatic glass sculpture resembling agave.  So nice that it deserves a couple of photos (above and below).

Since the Garden opened its doors in 1976, it has become the jewel in the crown of Atlanta culture. The Garden is an ever-evolving destination where the horticulturally-minded, nature-inspired and fun-seeking come together, but with certain precautions post COVID-19.  Masks are encouraged outside and required inside (like in the Conservatory).

In the Conservatory its real plants mixed with the glass art.  I like the painted backdrops that bring out the art in these shots.

Masks are worn indoors (like in the Conservatory).  This area is flush with orchids.

Real or glass?

Above real ginger and below a really phallic glass art sculpture.

Herrania balaensis

My favorite find in the gardens this season were these endangered Herrania balensis.  These evergreen trees are endemic to Ecuador and are related to the cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao).  In Ecuador they are prized as a spice for flavoring foods.  Flowers grow at the base of the tree's trunk in summer.  Herrania's natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and is largely fragmented due to human encroachment.  We looked for these trees around Guayaquil but were shocked by the amount of development that has happened in that city of around 3,000,000 people.  Colonization, mining, and deforestation around Guayaquil are leading to the demise of this unusual plant species.

Above, more giant glass orchids in the formal gardens.

One of my favorite quiet spaces in the gardens (above and below) is the Japanese Garden.

Below, look closely for artistic flourishes throughout the gardens.

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My must have in the garden from this visit are some of these pitcher-plant-like glass sculptures in the pond in front of the Conservatory.  They are perfect.

From the permanent collection the giant "Shaggy Dog," a loveable topiary that is maintained year round with living grasses.  Shaggy Dog is my perennial favorite.

. . .and the millstone pond.  What a great way to use an old millstone. . . 

And of course "Earth Goddess," planted this season with begonias and periwinkles.

Renowned plant collections, beautiful displays and spectacular exhibitions make the Atlanta Botanical Garden the loveliest place in the city to visit. An urban oasis in the heart of Midtown, the Garden includes 30 acres of outdoor gardens, an award-winning Children’s Garden, the serene Storza Woods highlighted by a unique Canopy Walk and the Supernatural display this season, and the picturesque Skyline Garden.

Another favorite, the Gardenhouse Fountain, this Mediterranean-inspired space is anchored by "Three Graces Fountain."  The fountain symbolizes brilliance, joy, and bloom.  

Atlanta landscape architect Spencer Tunnell conceived the Three Graces Fountain then asked celebrated ironworker Andrew Crawford to bring the concept to reality. The collaboration produced a forged bronze bowl supported by three bronze trees resting on a granite pedestal. The bowl holds more than a ton-and-a-half of water. Unlike with some similar fountains, the water is not intended to flow over the top of the bowl with the appearance of a smooth sheet of glass. Nowhere in nature is there this type of flow. It is to gently spill over the top in broken and irregular patterns, like shattered glass, each water fragment refracting the light, enlivening the area.

The bronze trees that support the bowl were forged from welded cylinders and cones, made hollow to become the conduits for the water feeding the fountain, to satisfy the design requirement that there be no visible plumbing. These conduits are sized and configured to satisfy another design requisite that the flow of water into the bowl not be strong enough to break the water's surface.

Frog Baby

Another favorite (and nice quiet space) is "Frog Baby."  With a frog dangling from each hand, this water sculpture expresses pure joy. The bronze fountain by Edith Barretto Parsons, on permanent loan from the High Museum, expresses the infectious merriment of childhood. The sculpture is centered in Frog Baby Pool surrounded by the Perennial Garden.

Created for the Garden in 2004, Dale Chihuly's Parterre Fountain Installation is a one-of-a-kind sculpture in blue and white, interpreting shapes and colors of water, ice and sky. A captivating assemblage of twisting, brightly colored glass, the sculpture sparkles in Levy Parterre Fountain, where it is especially lovely lit up after dark. See it sparkle from the top of Alston Overlook.

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Slothbot

As always on this visit I searched for Slothbot, but she was elusive today.