Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens: Spring Flower Show 2010

After nearly a year in Pittsburgh, I finally visited Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens for the Spring Flower Show 2010. Located in Schenley Park, the conservatory is only a short walk from Carnegie Mellon University and free to all CMU students. Normal adult admission, by the way, is only $12 – cheaper than a movie ticket for Avatar 3D, and you get the scent experience, to boot. I spent a full two hours wandering from room to room, each overflowing with flowers and other surprises. Giant glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly, for instance, were interspersed throughout and blended beautifully with the living scenery. Some other highlights of my visit: making the stone animals spit water in the Children’s Discovery Garden, finding a room filled with model train sets, and learning there is a plant called Giant Dumb Cane.