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Visiting company were once again a great excuse to go down and see the Spring exhibit at Bellagio’s Conservatory and Botanical Garden, entitled “Spring Celebration”. This year’s display is filled with more than 8,200 flowers. Among the thousands of flowers including tulips, daffodils and lilies, there is a 45-foot-tall Cherry Blossom tree (Fig. 01) with a wooden stage nestled in the branches for nightly musical performances. There are two koi ponds (Fig. 02) located on either side of the tree with a wooden pathway that winds itself between the ponds and through the oversized tree. In the center there are two monitors that provide underwater views of these beautifully colored fish. The tree and ponds are then surrounded by thousands of orange, purple, yellow and pink flowers (Figs. 03 & 04). The ceiling above contains forty over-sized raindrops (Fig. 01) representing the sprinkling of spring showers throughout the garden.
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| (Fig. 02) |
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| (Fig. 03) |
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| (Fig. 04) |
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As in years past, the true centerpiece of the garden is the 36-foot-long greenhouse (Fig. 05)located in the East Garden that boarders the main entrance. This enormous structure is filled with more than 800 live, fluttering butterflies. The butterfly species on display (Figs. 06-09) originate from around the world including Costa Rica, the Philippines and Kenya. The perimeter of the greenhouse is adorned with an assortment of yellow, pink and white flowers filling out this lush garden.
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| (Fig. 05) |
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| (Fig. 06) |
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| (Fig. 09) |
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| The North Garden boasts an explosion of color as five aluminum watering cans (Fig. 10) stream into a pond below as 14-foot-tall multicolored tulips and 22-foot-tall yellow daffodils that bloom nearby. Fresh flowers complement the oversized flora creating a storybook setting. Two floral ladybugs embellished in red carnations rest throughout the Garden. 50 butterflies, made from organic materials including green crushed Manzanita leaves, orange carrot flakes, lentils, radishes and rice, flutter overhead (Fig. 11). |
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| (Fig. 10) |
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| (Fig. 11) |
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Flowers in the South Garden peer up at a 22-foot-tall neon green gardening shovel and oversized hand-painted flower pots. Two caterpillars (Fig. 12) wiggle around a performance stage, the second in the Conservatory, through rows of shrubs including gardenias, hibiscus and bougainvillea. The eight-foot long caterpillars are covered in colored moss and hand-painted faces.
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| (Fig. 12) |
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In conjunction with the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art’s new exhibit “Painting Women,” the Conservatory has created a floral interpretation of Polly Thayer’s “My Childhood Trees” with 1,200 mixed flowers. Located in the Giardini corner, the recreated painting (Fig. 13) is fitted within a
6-foot-tall elaborately carved frame. This creation is absolutely gorgeous and one of the best ever created for this space.
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| (Fig. 13) |
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