Giant Ants Attack Pittsburgh Conservatory
A behind the scenes peek into the Phipps Spring Flower Show
The horticulture team at Phipps Conservatory springs into action the week before Easter as the holiday’s namesake bloom is incorporated into the Spring Flower Show. On Thursday I helped cram a couple dozen Easter lilies into the already lush landscapes of tulips, daffodils and hyacinth.
The show’s already been open for a few weeks and I asked some folks on the hort staff if they always do this lily addition mid-show and they said it’s something of a floral tradition at the conservatory.
The fall and spring show are the shortest ones at Phipps and often the most labor-intensive. To keep this spring show looking vibrant for a month, it requires changing out the tulips and daffodils at least once a week. And there are tens of thousands of blooms in this show!
This year’s pièce de résistance is an epic picnic scene rendered with plants in the South Conservatory. A bed of plants form a checkered blanket as massive topiary ants scavenge a meal created from dried plant matter.
I got a chance to interview two members of the Phipps staff on TV last week. On Pittsburgh Today Live, I chatted with Associate Director of Exhibits, Jordyn Melino about what it took to put together their picnic-inspired garden:
I also chatted with Jordyn about some of the interactive elements of the show which they incorporated with kids in mind but I found them delightful too. Here’s a kaleidoscope they mounted above a flower pot on a turntable. It was very cool to encounter these familiar leaves and flowers in a new way.
On Talk Pittsburgh I got to venture into the backstage production greenhouses to chat with Lauren Delorenze, Greenhouse Production Manager, about some of the preparation that goes into the show and what they do with all those spent bulbs after they switch them out weekly. Lauren also gave me an exclusive sneak peek into the preparation for Phipps’ summer show:
The Spring Flower Show runs through April 14th. Then in early May the summer show opens and runs through most of the summer.
Is your yard full of blooming bulbs this times of year? My daffodils are just starting to come out but our neighbors’ daffodils have been out for two weeks already. Does that mean our backyard is some sort of microclimate? I’d love to hear the bulb report from your yard.
And one more thing: A few days ago while Brooke and I were hanging out in the backyard, a massive hawk swooped down, grabbed something behind the garage and perched in our neighbor’s tree. We then watched as it pulled intestines out of some sort of small mammal. Perhaps that’s the end of the rodent that’s been digging up our raised beds? Excuse the grainy photo:
I planted them in late November but I think we had a few days (weeks) of warmish weather which might have given them a push?
Great hawk photo! I can almost smell the entrails.