We took advantage of Wednesday's wonderful weather to arrive at Olbrich Botanical Gardens an hour early for the Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society monthly meeting. That gave us plenty of time to explore the gardens outside and the "Tour de Fleur" spring flower show inside. The display is open to the public daily until March 20 and well worth a visit.
The minute we stepped into the building we were enveloped in spring fragrances, including the wonderful smell of warm wet earth — more noticeable inside than out at the moment.
The bulbs, annuals and flowering trees and shrubs were in spectacular form — as was the team who designed and created this display.
As local gardeners we never miss this chance to enjoy spring before the real season is fully upon us here in Madison. But this concept centered around bikes — antique, merely old and cutting edge creations — let the flowers show off in a way that's not always possible with some themed exhibits.
Among our favorite bikes was this one (above and below) all fitted out for an artist sketching in the country.
The country scene included a beautifully painted landscape backdrop.
We couldn't get enough of the blue and yellow bikes; not an inch was left unpainted.
This bike has parts made of bamboo and will be raffled off. Here's ticket info.
The staff created this "natural" bike and had a number of other unusual bikes high on the walls overhead, not just mixed in among the flowers.
Linda, Now that's a cool show!
Posted by: Gail | Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 09:21 PM
What a fun display. I love bikes and these artful bikes are the best. They give me ideas. :) Have a great weekend.
Posted by: Lisa at Greenbow | Friday, March 18, 2011 at 05:09 AM