Thursday, June 13, 2013

Snakes in the Garden

Tens of thousands of visitors to the Atlanta Botanical Garden have already seen Imaginary Worlds since its opening early last month...and everyone has a favorite sculpture from the exhibition. My favorite, you ask? Coming in at 18-feet tall, the Cobras are my personal favorite, without a doubt! 

Imaginary Worlds, Cobra, Atlanta Botanical Garden
Imaginary Worlds, Cobra, Atlanta Botanical Garden
Just one would have been phenomenal, but no...the Atlanta Botanical Garden always takes it to another level, for which I'm eternally grateful. And their placement—the pair of them welcoming visitors into the main part of the Garden, on the pathway just as you enter the Parterre Garden—is brilliant.


Imaginary Worlds, Cobra, Atlanta Botanical Garden
Imaginary Worlds, Cobra, Atlanta Botanical Garden
And, I believe, the Cobras are the only of the 19 sculptures in the exhibition that come with a picturesque skyline view!


Imaginary Worlds, Cobra, Atlanta Botanical Garden
Imaginary Worlds, Cobra, Atlanta Botanical Garden
When you see them, be sure to notice the patterns on their hoods...they're each unique in that respect. You definitely want to see this, so walk behind each of them...the back of their hoods are much more elaborate than the front.


Imaginary Worlds, Cobra, Atlanta Botanical Garden
Imaginary Worlds, Cobra, Atlanta Botanical Garden
And the vantage points are seemingly endless...walk around, turn around, walk up, walk down...there are lots of fantastic photo opportunities with these two.


Imaginary Worlds, Cobra, Atlanta Botanical Garden
Imaginary Worlds, Cobra, Atlanta Botanical Garden
Following the main path from the Visitor Center, the Cobra on the right is considerable longer, which makes for more space for intricate designs...


Imaginary Worlds, Cobra, Atlanta Botanical Garden
Imaginary Worlds, Cobra, Atlanta Botanical Garden
...intricate and beautiful designs. During many peak times at the Garden, there are docents at the Cobras or the nearby Ogre who can share with you statistical information about these two, including what plants were used to create them, so keep an eye out for someone in a green gardening apron.


Imaginary Worlds, Cobra, Atlanta Botanical Garden
Imaginary Worlds, Cobra, Atlanta Botanical Garden
This exhibition makes me a million times over grateful to have a Garden membership...the Cobras have grown in quite a lot since seeing them the first time a month ago, so I can only imagine how lush they'll be in another month.

A great time to see them is during Cocktails in the Garden on Thursday nights, 6-10 p.m. And they have fun with that too...one of the specialty drinks this month is a fluorescent "Snake Juice." Cocktails is also during the evening, so it's not quite as hot, although this is Atlanta, so we do have some hot summer nights—but nothing that a cool beverage can't cure. And you'll get to see the sculptures in daylight and dramatically lit after sundown.

I think you'll be blown away, not only by the Cobra duo, but by the entire Imaginary Worlds: Plants Larger Than Life exhibition. It's truly spectacular!

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