Garden Art: Mitchell Park Domes' Art in the Green

Unfortunately, one of Milwaukee's greatest treasures, the Mitchell Park Domes, has been closed since earlier this year due to structural concerns that need to be addressed - to the tune of thousands of dollars.  The good news is, the "Show Dome" where the revolving displays occur throughout the year, re-opened earlier this month.  This weekend, to celebrate, the Domes had a free art show in the Show Dome as well as the atrium and the main greenhouse, where artists sold paintings, photographs, drawings and jewelry to the public.

Many of the paintings for sale coincided with the flowers and plants featured in the Show Dome.

In addition to the art work for sale, I got to see a lot of the region's natural flowers including beautiful Easter lilies.

And hydrangeas.

The coolest part of the art show was the outdoor art installation where 50 artists painted posies throughout our four seasons on 50 different canvases.

I'm so glad that the Mitchell Park Domes is, once again, open for business, even in its limited capacity.  It is a treasure for Milwaukee and often voted as one of its best tourist attractions.  We're so lucky to have such an amazing indoor garden right outside our doorsteps!

Monster Invasion: Mitchell Park Domes Garden Railroad Show

Every year, Milwaukee's Mitchell Park Domes presents its garden railroad show, and each has a specific theme.  This year's theme is "Monsters" as in movie monsters. 

The main set is always the same with bridges, a desert area, a monorail, and a colorful residential area.  But this year, they added a cityscape (where a giant gorilla hung from a skyscraper), a drive-in theatre (where, strangely, Elsa from "Frozen" was on an adventure with the pair from "Monters, Inc.") and fake movie posters featuring the monsters, as well as Thomas the Tank, around the perimeter.

I loved both the cityscape with its Town Square and soldiers on the rooftop.  I also enjoyed the colorful town.

There's still plenty of time to visit this year's garden railroad show.  The Mitchell Park Domes is open seven days a week and the show runs until March 6.

**Update: The Mitchell Park Domes is closed indefinitely due to "falling concrete".  I never experienced this problem, but it is serious enough for the county to close one of its most famous tourist attractions until further notice.  Such a shame, but I hope they can fix the problem quickly and safely.

 

Favorite Flower #2: The Chrysanthemum

In a previous post, I showed my collection of photos of one of my favorite flowers, the Dahlia.  Another one of my favorites, especially this time of year, is the Chrysanthemum (or just plain "mum").  Like the Dahlia, they come in many different types and colors and look pretty alone or in bunches.

Chrysanthemums are native to parts of Europe and Asia, cultivated as an herb as far back as the 15th century.  They were brought to the United States by Col. John Stevens and planted into the Elysian Fields in New Jersey.  One type, known as "Garden Hardy Mums" can survive northern winters, which is why they last so long where I live.

I visited the Mitchell Park Domes last month, where they showcased mums in their Show Dome.  I was amazed at how many different types of mums were on display from the Irregular Incurve (pictured above) to the Spider mum:

There is also the Semi-Double variety, probably the most popular:

 And the Decorative variety:

Chrysanthemums also come in Reflex, Anemone, Regular Incurve, Spoon, Quill, Pompom and Brush.  You can learn more about these different types here.

As I mentioned above, one of the reasons I love mums is that they are really the only type of flower you see in their prime in late fall around Wisconsin.  I love going to the farmers markets and seeing their bright colors all around.  They are always the last burst of color before we head into cold, gray winter.

I'm sure you can still see these vibrant, happy flowers at any botanical garden or farmers market for the rest of fall and, maybe, into winter.  They really do brighten any dreary day!

Greater Milwaukee Foundation: A True Milwaukee Ambassador

I'm taking a moment to give a shout out to one of the coolest organizations in Wisconsin, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.  They have been around for 100 years, and, in addition to being a "community foundation", they provide the opportunity for residents and tourists to visit many Milwaukee area attractions and parks for free, once a month, with their "Gifts to the Community".

One day a month in 2015, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation has sponsored free admission to Milwaukee's top tourist destinations, such as the Milwaukee Art Museum, Discovery World, the Milwaukee Public Museum, the Mitchell Park Domes, the Milwaukee County Zoo, and, in September, Miller Park, home of the Brewers.  I was lucky enough to visit Miller Park during the Free Day, and was able to see a lot of places in the stadium that the general public doesn't get to see.  I will recap that visit in a separate post.

But, what does the Greater Milwaukee Foundation mean by being a "community foundation"?  According to their website, they meet the "present needs and prepare for future issues thanks to the generosity of our donors".   A portion of the funds they generate go towards grants to support a wide range of programs in our city.  That means that each person that donates money to the Foundation helps to build a better Milwaukee for its citizens.  To me, that makes them one of my city's best ambassadors.

Thanks, Greater Milwaukee Foundation, for doing so much good for my community for 100 years!  I look forward to seeing the results of your good work for years to come.

Mini-Landscapes: Mitchell Park Domes "Steampunk Railroad" Exhibit

Well, I have to say this has been a winter for the record books in Milwaukee, and not in a good way.  It has either been snowy or freezing cold since late November, which has really put a damper on my photography.  But, I found an excuse to bring my camera out of storage from when I moved and use it again.  Even though the high today is 10, I went out to my favorite indoor botanical garden, The Mitchell Park Domes for the last day of their annual model train show.  This year's theme was "Steampunk" which I only know about through a couple of friends who do this type of art work.  If you don't know what Steampunk is, the Domes provided this nice sign as a description:

 



The exhibit seemed to focus on the Old West, complete with little industrial towns, bridges, tunnels and a train depot.  The way they planted the featured winter flowers was interesting, too, making them look like pink, red and purple trees dotting the landscape.

I started out taking photos with my 35 mm standard-length lens, which showed off the Old West design nicely.  But then I decided to switch lenses to my 200 mm telephoto lens, just to see if it made a difference.  It really did!  I was able to get close enough to make each area of the setup look like mini-landscapes and that's when the real fun began:

In addition to the train set-up, they had little vignettes around the perimeter of the Show Dome displaying the arts and crafts examples of Steampunk:

I'm glad I forced myself to get out into the cold to head to downtown Milwaukee and see this exhibit.  The Domes always has such great displays, every season, and this was one of their best yet.

Decked Out At The Domes

Over the weekend, I visited the Mitchell Park Domes where they have a very cute exhibit, "Let It Snow", going on until January 6.  I've posted about the Domes many times, but if you are unfamiliar with Milwaukee's indoor botanical garden, I have a photo of it below.

 

The garden is made up of three climate-controlled biospheres, the Arid Dome, the Rainforest Dome, and the Show Dome.  The Show Dome has rotating seasonal displays that correspond with featured plants and flowers.  This month's display involved a gigantic Christmas tree and plaster snowpeople, each with their own distinct personality, intermingled with red, pink and even yellow poinsettias.

Below are some of my favorite snowpeople.

This snow-woman was my favorite of the group.  I especially love her red scarf and bracelet.

This funny-looking snowman reminded me of Frosty.

I thought this snowman looked very classic with his wreath and wool hat.

I found this snow-couple adorable.

 

I couldn't tell if this snowman was afraid of the dog or the one to be feared. 

 



Personally, I don't think the dog looks quite so scary.

 The last snowman, to me, was quite mesmerizing amongst the white flowers, looking up at the Christmas tree.

From what I could tell, the artist who designed the snowpeople created the Don Quixote sculptures from this past October's display.  You can see them here.

This is also my "D" post for Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday.  Click the link to see more!