Art In Bloom = Awesome!

I had a great experience in Milwaukee on Friday when I went and enjoyed the Fifth Annual Art In Bloom - A Tribute To Art & Flowers. Held at the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM), this event exceeded my expectations as a first time attendee. I was scheduled to present at 2:30 pm on the topic of Perennial Partners for Stunning Shrubbery. While travel in to Milwaukee (and back) was challenging as usual, I arrived early with the intent of enjoying the floral displays and art collections in general. There was also a wide range of vendors selling garden art, statuary, etc. I've been to the MAM (www.mam.org/) many times and have always enjoyed the collections and am also always struck by the elegant architecture of the building (see above). To the south of MAM is also the engaging Discovery World (http://www.discoveryworld.org/) which is also top notch and well worth the visit. I was concerned about parking and pulled in to the underground lot under MAM even though the sign read FULL. I found the only open parking space which saved some time and headaches! From the minute I walked in the museum, I can only equate my experience to an "Easter-egg hunt-like" endeavor where I sought out the dozens of flower arrangements over all four levels of MAM. It was very crowded but I was able to enjoy all the arrangements. Every one was creative and as you look at these pictures, note those that also include the piece of exhibit art in the distance for which the arrangement was created. The arrangements, works of art themselves, echoed colors, themes and exhibit content in either an abstract or quite straightforward arrangement. Good examples of this "echoing" can be seen in the two photos directly below. Needless to say, I was blown away and was glad to have my camera. What I've posted here is just a fraction of the arrangements. My presentation went well with about 100 in attendance with lots of questions at the conclusion of the program. I was at RBG briefly this morning for a meeting of our Home Garden Tour Committee (Bill, Jean, Janet, Barb and Cora). We're finalizing some details for this July 21st event. I also saw Larry, Bill and Dr. Gredler working out in the gardens and on some other projects. Lots of work coming up and it will be nice to have the grounds staff back in action next week! Enjoy the images from Art In Bloom. The bottom three arrangements were not featured in the collections but were created by a renowned floral arranger who was in attendance at the event.