This Week at Phipps Jan. 23 - 29

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: 

• Orchid and Tropical Bonsai Show: Origin Stories
  Orchid and Tropical Bonsai Show: Origin Stories is an experience filled with captivating displays of colorful orchids and exquisitely trained tropical bonsai specimens guide you through the origins of these fascinating plants.
•  BiblioBotany: The Work of Lisa Meek
  In our Welcome Center Gallery, Phipps is pleased to host the BiblioBotany sculptures of Lisa Meek who looks for symbolism in each page and flower she uses to encourage people to process ideas in new ways.
• Garden Railroad: Our National Parks
  Garden Railroad: Our National Parks pulls into the station with miniature recreations of the beautiful National Parks of the United States, bustling with chugging trains and filled with live plants.
• Tropical Forest Hawai‘i: Aloha ‘Aina
  Tropical Forest Hawai‘i: Aloha ‘Aina invites guests to take an exciting, immersive journey through the rich history, nature and culture of the Hawaiian archipelago. 
• 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.

Mon., Jan. 23:

• Hydrangeas | 6 p.m. –  9 p.m.
  Discover how easy it is to have hydrangea blooms all summer long! We will cover the following topics: culture, pruning, and use in your landscape as well as new varieties and unusual cultivars.

Tues., Jan. 24:

• Plants, Cuisine and Culture Virtual Lecture Series: Native American Cuisine with Sean Sherman | 6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
  Plants are intimately linked to our cultural identities and food traditions. In this series, renowned chefs, culinary historians and authors from cultures around the world discuss how plants shaped their foodways.

Wed., Jan. 25:

• ​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!
• Flowers, Jewels and Gold | 9:30 a.m. –  12:30 p.m.
  In this class we’ll explore the medieval and renaissance decorative art featuring flowers, insects, and gems on golden borders, and then students will create their own designs.
• Mastering Kitchen Skills: Vegtable Cooking Esstentials: Ratatouille | 6 p.m. –  8 p.m.
  Join Chef Rachel in this four-part series to master core kitchen skills.In this class, we’ll cover basic knife skills and vegetable cooking techniques by creating this classic peasant’s dish using fresh seasonal veggies served with a toasted baguette and herbed rice.
• Bouquet Design Series: Cascading Bouquet  | 6:30 p.m. –  8 p.m.
  Building on skills covered in Traditional Bouquet class or other floral design classes, this class will elevate your design skills to create different forms with your flowers. Cascading bouquets have been a very popular style over the last 10 years and offer a fuller, more interesting look than your traditional bouquet
• Botanical Drawing I | 6 p.m. –  9 p.m.
  Learn to identify basic shapes in nature and use a step-by-step process to create the illusion of depth through light, shadow and perspective.
• Developing Botanical Perspective to Create Depth | 6 p.m. –  9 p.m.
  Learn how to study and draw the various perspective techniques used to create depth. Use foreshortening, shadows and highlights to achieve a highly accurate and convincing botanical drawing, working with guided practice handouts, 2D photographs and 3D botanical specimens.

Thurs., Jan. 26:

• Dinner at the Chef's Table: Dinner with Chef Amy Reed | 6 p.m. –  8 p.m.
  Join us for dinner at the chefs’ table! Chat with our experienced chefs and watch the live-action as they prepare a three-course meal designed just for you, sharing tips, tricks, and stories along the way. This week Chef Amy Reed, general manager of the Phipps catering team, will whip up some of the favorites from our Phipps Café
• Watercolor Materials: Paper, Brushes, Pigments and Charts | 6 p.m. –  9 p.m.
  We will learn about different aspects of these materials to understand how to use them in your paintings and which qualities to look for when purchasing new materials. We will also be creating helpful watercolor charts

Sat., Jan. 28:

• Botanical Drawing I: Foundations | 9:30 a.m. –  3:30 p.m.
  Learn to identify basic shapes in nature and use a step-by-step process to create the illusion of depth through light, shadow and perspective.
• Mastering Color I - VI | 9:30 a.m. –  3:30 p.m.
  These classes are mixed level and are sequential. This series inform you of how to be able to use color, perception, hue, value, intensity and temperature for application to personal colored pencil renderings . 

Sun., Jan. 29:

• Reduction Block Printing with Botanical Imagery | 2 p.m. –  5 p.m.
  This course will take you through the process of creating a print using the reduction block printing method in which part of the plate is carved away then printed, more of the plate is carved away and printed and so on working from the lightest color to the darkest.

Photo ©  Phil Johnson II