Countdown to Opening

The Garden is a buzz with activity! It's hard to believe the Garden's expansion project will be complete in just a few short weeks. Above is a photo I took from the roof of our current visitor center last week. The circular feature will have a ring of trees inside it. Technically it's called Alston Overlook, but I prefer The Druid Circle. The building toward the back is the new visitor center. From a bird's eye view, you can really appreciate the creativity and planning involved in the design. The new buildings and hardscaping blend seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. It's unbelieveably exciting!

Over on the "other side", in the "old" part of the Garden, we broke ground on the footings for the Moore sculptures on March 16th. The process began months ago when we sited the locations of the sculptures with the Henry Moore Foundation. Then we called in Long Engineering and Hardin Construction to design and build the footings and pedestals. The dimensions and weights of these works are so extreme, it takes an engineer to determine the size and depth of the concrete footings and pedestals that will support the sculptures.

I am forever grateful that this show dovetails with the expansion project as all the equipment and resources required to build the foundations are pretty much already on site. Hardin construction is the GC on the expansion project, and I was thrilled they agreed to take on my tiny-by-comparison sculpture project. Their team began by staking the locations, digging out holes, laying reinforcing steel, then pouring the concrete footings.

To the delight of our feathered friends, the excavation process left all kinds of wriggling dirt dwellers exposed.

Steel rebar laid out for reinforcement.

Sidewalks, concrete trucks, and visitors don't mix particularly well. Each load of cement therefore had to be brought in with a Georgia buggy, which is basically a motor driven wheelbarrow.

The Hardin crew says this project is a bit unusual for them, particularly the interruptions by our younger visitors: "Can I get up there and ride with you?" "Are you digging graves?" Not a bad question given the size of some of the footings, like this 10' long, 5000 pound behemoth...

So by now you must be wondering how we're going to get these out once the show closes, right? We should be able to pull some of them out with a crane. As for the pedestals and remaining footings, I'm eager to see what that blog entry says as well.

Roots of the Garden

There are a few moments in the exhibition planning process when the reality of it all finally sinks in. The first is when we begin placing ads like this one. Definitely a "no turning back now" moment.

Another is when we begin training our amazing volunteers about the exhibition and featured artist(s). The Garden has about 250 active volunteers. (This is long-time volunteer Nancy, deadheading pansies.) They are all talented, generous individuals who fill numerous roles here at the Garden: maintaining the gardens, educating visitors of all ages through formal and informal programs, working alongside our scientists in the lab, helping out in the business office, staffing events...the list goes on and on. We simply could not function without our volunteers. We are extraordinarily grateful to all of you!

The first training was for the docents. I LOVE docent training. Yes, the people are fun and interesting. But OMG...they BAKE. Every meeting! I intentionally came down the elevator this time to avoid the overflowing plates of temptation over the by the stairs on the opposite side of the room. Ha! That lasted...what?...maybe five minutes. The siren call of lemon bars broke my will.

Here are the docents/bakers doing yoga exercises to break things up a bit during the meeting. They have a funky belly dancer move too. Who knew?! But, on to business... These volunteers give tours to adults and kids. Lots of them also volunteer in other areas as well, such as the BRIDGE volunteer group.

Here's BRIDGE volunteer Susan in the Orchid Center with a Hug-A-Planet from Peace Toys. It's one of several props or "conversation starters" on the Vanilla Discovery Cart. Did you know vanilla comes from an orchid? Susan and other volunteers can tell you all about it and show you several in our Orchid Center. This summer, we'll periodically have Discovery Carts on Henry Moore, Organic Rose Gardening, and many other highlights from our plant collections. Be on the lookout, especially on weekend afternoons!

It really will be a new era at the Garden this spring as the new visitor center, parking facility, and renovated woodland garden open to the public on May 2. It's a great time to get involved! Volunteering is fun, and a great way to expand your horizons and meet some new folks. And maybe learn that belly dancing move too...

Across the Pond

I thought I'd start blogging by answering a common question: how did the Garden decide to do this show? Well, I first heard of the exhibition through a press release from Kew Gardens, which I forwarded to our director, Mary Pat Matheson, who was already a huge fan of Henry Moore. Her background in horticulture and passion for art appreciation naturally drew her toward an artist inspired by the landscape and natural forms. We literally picked up the phone that day and asked the Henry Moore Foundation for more details. It was our good fortune that the New York Botanical Garden had just recently inquired as well, giving us a potential cost-sharing partner.

We would need to see the exhibition, of course, which meant a trip across the pond. With the generous support of Delta Airlines, we flew to England in October 2007 for the opening of Moore at Kew. That's me (above, right) with the Henry Moore Foundation curator, Anita Feldman, at Kew Gardens. At 300 acres and 250 years old, Kew (right) is one of the oldest and largest public gardens in the world. Although located in the city, the great expanses of lawn punctuated by massive, ancient trees make it feel as though you're in the country. It was a glorious, yet very different experience from our young, intimate "urban oasis" here in Atlanta.

While in England, we also visited Perry Green, Moore's homestead about an hour north of London. He moved there with his wife, Irina, after World War II. The home and working studios dotted across the property, all remain exactly as Moore left them when he died in 1986.

A few things intrigue me about this photo of Moore's living room, particularly given Moore's financial success during his lifetime. He was fascinated by African artifacts but he never visited Africa. I always wondered why he didn't just pick up and go. Maybe that would have clouded his imagination with too much reality. His home was also very modestly sized and not at all showy. And finally, how cool is the mid-century modern eclectic vibe?!

There is stuff everywhere in Moore's studios, but it all appears very organized. Everything seems to have a purpose. There are natural objects, tools, and lots and lots of maquettes, or scale models. I got the sense that if not his hands, surely Moore's mind was constantly at work.

Seeing Large Reclining figure across a pasture...with sheep, mind you...was truly inspirational. I could have stared at this magnificence for ages. Even from a distance, you can sense the enormity in scale and impact. It was a very good trip, and we were very much smitten with Mr. Moore's sculpture by the end of it. And that, is where it all started...