This Week at Phipps: Oct. 6 – 12

By Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

There's always something new to see and do at Phipps! This weekly blog post provides a run-down of the latest happenings so you can plan your visit. Events listed below require no advance registration unless noted otherwise. 

Open Daily: 

• NOW OPEN: Fall Flower Show: Visions of Japan
  Phipps’ Fall Flower Show: Visions of Japan celebrates the prominence of the chrysanthemum in Japanese culture through vibrant autumnal displays. Mums in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors will be presented alongside evocative props including jewel-toned fans, a moon gate, a pagoda, foot bridges and a celebratory ryuu, or dragon, whose brightly colored body floats from end to end of the glasshouse’s iconic Sunken Garden.
• NOW OPEN: Garden Railroad: The Age of Dinosaurs
  Garden Railroad: The Age of Dinosaurs will highlight each distinct period of the Mesozoic Era. Guests can watch a group of dinosaurs moving through greenery while listening to the powerful sound of a dinosaur roar! In addition to these features, the plant evolution through the different time periods will be on display, from ferns, cycads and conifers to the first flowering plants. Each prehistoric period will have its own train to follow along so you can learn about their unique characteristics. 
• Tropical Forest Panama: Bridge to Biodiversity
  Embark on a spectacular journey through the lush vegetation and vibrant culture of Panama, the incredibly biodiverse land bridge connecting North and South America, in our immersive new Tropical Forest Conservatory exhibit
• Growing Community Through Food
  Open now in Phipps' Edible Garden, Growing Community Through Food celebrates six of our dedicated and resourceful neighbors working in large and small ways across our region to ensure that everyone can enjoy fresh, affordable (and tasty!) food.
• Metamorphosis: A Youth Sustainable Art and Fashion Exhibit
  Enjoy a sustainable gallery full of art created by the Pittsburgh Youth Leaders in Sustainability Network from Carnegie Mellon University’s Sustainability Initiative and Phipps' Youth Climate Advocacy Committee (YCAC) now in Phipps' Center for Sustainable Landscapes.
• Native Plants of Southwestern Pennsylvania and Their Bird Associates and Pollinators
  In Phipps' Garden Center, plant lovers of all ages can now enjoy stunning illustrations of native plants and their pollinators symbiotic relationships. 
• Planets Earth Virtual Exhibit
  A dynamic exhibit at the Center for Sustainable Landscapes (and now online) addresses the pressing environmental issues of our time and proposes a new way of thinking about how to solve them.

Wed., Oct. 8: 

• In-Person Story Time | 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
  Kids will love visiting Phipps to listen to our storyteller weave tales about gardens, fruits, vegetables, animals and other fun topics. Attend weekly sessions with a special child in your life.
• Foodscaping Our Cities Evening Talk | 6 – 8 p.m.
  The Foodscaper envisions cities filled with edible landscaping, food forests, community orchards, pollinator gardens, water-harvesting systems, and communities nourished by locally grown fruits and vegetables. This presentation will share stories of how this vision is already being realized through the work of foodscaping companies across the country.

Thurs., Oct. 9:

• Foodscaping Our Cities Workshop | 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
  Spend the day with Matt Lebon of Custom FoodScaping and Jeremy Lekich of Nashville Foodscapes for an in-depth look at how to transform traditional ornamental gardens into food oases. From growing vegetables to adding native perennial food crops, learn how adding food to a landscape can be beautiful and more sustainable. Of course, water can be a limiting factor; learn how to use rainwater to nourish and irrigate the landscape.

Fri., Oct. 10:

• Candles at the Conservatory: Fall Scents | 7 – 10 p.m.
  Join us for a night of candle-making at Phipps Conservatory. You will learn how to make your very own candle, picking from several PGH Candle scents, all with that special Fall feeling. Decorate your candle with pumpkins, mushrooms and other fall artwork. Kayla will also teach us how to reuse and repurpose your candle jar. While your candle is setting, explore the conservatory at your leisure and pick up your candle on your way out. At the end of the night, you will have a customized soy candle and care card, with a burn time of up to 60 hours.

Sun., Oct., 12: 

• Dancing with Dracula | 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
  Get ready for a haunted Halloween and join us for Dancing with Dracula! On Sun., Oct. 12, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (PBT) and Phipps Conservatory invite children ages 4 – 8 to learn ballet basics in an hour-long creative movement class. Boys and girls will learn Halloween-inspired dance moves with a PBT instructor and enjoy watching a brief ballet vignette performed by Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre pre-professional students.
• Sensory Inclusive Time | 5:30 – 7 p.m.
  Join our team on Sun., Oct. 12 for a self-guided visit to the Conservatory to enjoy Fall Flower Show: Visions of Japan. To ensure a peaceful walk through the Conservatory, lights and sounds will be minimized. Participants will receive a social story via email detailing the experience prior to arrival.

 

Photos  © Paul g. Wiegman