Aah... Enchanted Garden In Sin City

This unexpected garden was the highlight of my stay in Las Vegas.

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The Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens spring display was not only vividly colorful, but also greeted us with a magic sweet aroma.

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Fortune-hunters and family travelers, old and young, were all walking in awe among the giant creatures and masses of spring blooms.

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From floor to ceiling, there was so much to see!
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A ladybug, butterflies, ants, a snail...
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The enchanted garden has five giant mushrooms. They range from 5 to 15 feet tall.
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Blue and red. Who can beat that?

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Aah, watering cans!

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The bronze ants are 6 and 10-feet long:

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Hyacinths, tulips, poppies, daisies, mums, daffodils...
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Roses and moss decorated this giant snail:
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I couldn't miss the mosaic floors and walls:

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Foxgloves, my favorite foxgloves... They looked so classy with that columnar background!

(There are more shots of them in the previous post Are You Afraid Of Heights? )

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Am I in Fairyland?
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What are these green flowers decorating Miss Frog?
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Thank you, Susan Cochran, for your bronze ants!
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15-foot tall flower pot overflows with rainbow blooms. A beautiful spring butterfly rests on the top of the flower pot:

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Bumblebees are made of preserved sunflowers:
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In the evening, the giant sculptures were illuminated and looked even more magical.

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The Bellagio Casino central hall deserves a separate post, just look at its ceiling! Who is the creator? Of course, our Washington state-born Dale Chihuly! Bravo, Maestro!

The following is Dale Chihuly's statement:

"Steve Wynn started talking to me about the ceiling at the Bellagio long before construction even began. He wanted me to make a “spectacular” piece in the lobby of the hotel that would rival the aquarium at the Mirage, and generate more interest. Back in Seattle, we built the entire seventy-by-thirty-foot ceiling, full-scale, at my studio. The commission, as contracted, called for a whole new armature type and about a thousand new “flowers.” Steve visited several times, loved it, and wanted even more glass. Finally FIORI DI COMO was installed with over two thousand handblown glass elements."
(http://www.chihuly.com/installations/bellagio/statement.html)
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There also were 10 potted olive trees, each more than 100 years old. They were sculpted into oversized bonsai presentations.
The enchanting spring display at the Bellagio Conservatory made me want to see its other seasonal displays: Holiday, Chinese New Year, Spring, Summer and Fall.
To change a display, it takes a total of 100 people working 24 hours a day for a week.

Five cranes, which can move trees up to 5 tons, are located under the landscape. A series of tunnels underneath are built to help in changeouts.
The landscape is put together on a platform system and then assembled like a puzzle.
The display flowers are replaced every two weeks!
Theatrical lighting, sounds and water features enhance the conservatory.
A 40,000-square-foot, off-site warehouse hosts about 10,000 plants and flowers.
Each show includes approximately 40 trees, 1,500 shrubs and 10,000 blooming plants.
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Credits: Aleza Freeman at http://www.vegas.com/attractions/on_the_strip/bellagioconservatory.html

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Copyright 2010 TatyanaS