If there’s one definitive thing I think any tourist to Pittsburgh should do, it’s visit Phipps Conservatory. I don’t know of many other cities who have a botanical garden at all, let alone one quite like ours. They feature different installments throughout the year, their seasonal flower shows, and a variety of artwork from both local and national artists. And because I love Phipps so much, we decided to feature two of their flower shows this year to share with our readers!
The Winter Flower Show is one of the most majestic: during its run at the gardens, Phipps is open extended hours until 11pm each night. While the gardens are beautiful during the day, there’s nothing quite like Phipps after dark, especially with the magical winter decorations in place. We visited last night, and rather than do a lot of explaining, we’ll let the photos tell the story:
Outside the entrance.
The beautiful entryway to the Fern Room.
Lovely glass mushrooms from Jenn Figg & Matthew McCormack.
Hanging glass snowflakes.
Entrance to the nighttime Winter Garden.
Lights in winter garden.
Tunnel of lights.
Winter garden.
Winter garden.
Winter garden.
Lovely benches to sit on and enjoy the sights.
Michael on the path.
Fountain in winter garden.
Trees and glass art in the Serpentine Room.
The gryphons adopt a third.
Edward Scissorhands was here!
Gift boxes in the Sunken Garden.
Broderie Room.
Christmas Tree on the lagoon in the Victoria Room.
Santa’s Workshop in the East Room.
Carousel horses in the corners of the Sunken Garden room.
(My expert skills at setting the self-timer on our camera!)
The pictures are gorgeous, but they still don’t do the experience of visiting Phipps for the Winter Flower Show justice. There’s nothing quite like strolling through the gardens at your own pace, taking everything in. The show runs through Sunday, January 12th, so you still have plenty of time to check it out! (Although I’d say plan for long lines on the weekend.) Phipps is open until 11pm each night through the end of this flower show and has free parking.
That was gorgeous!! Someday my wife and I will have a garden just as nice!!!!
Oooh. The outdoor lighting looks better than it did last year! This is the first time in a while that we didn’t go to the winter show!!! *sigh* On the positive side, I got a lovely wallpaper from Phipps that I have on my work computer to help me survive winter in my cubicle – a very nice shot of the orchid room!
Edward Scissorhands made a reindeer!