Franklin Park Conservatory Columbus October 2022

One of my very favorite destinations is the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Columbus, OH. Here you’ll find beautiful indoor and outdoor gardens, a quaint gift shop and an art gallery. While a visit here on any day is a treat, I wait for their special exhibits to make the drive from Akron (which takes about 2 hours). 

This time a friend and I went to see the annual Pumpkins Aglow which draws families from all around to stroll throughout the conservatory and grounds viewing all things Halloween-themed. October weather can be tricky (get it...TRICKY?) but we managed to find a warm-ish Saturday and although it rained a bit, it was easy to wander the inside exhibits while the rain passed by. 

The grounds crew does a remarkable job with lighting displays for both Halloween and the Christmas season, it's well worth making the trip for both. In addition, housed in a covered outdoor pavilion in the North Courtyard, the Hot Shop features daily glassblowing demonstrations by local, professional gaffers. The gaffers will walk guests through every step of the glassblowing process as they gather molten glass and transform it into a finished piece of artwork. During the Pumpkins Aglow exhibit, they had a class in session outside so we got to watch as students learned to blow glass hot from the oven. Classes are open to the public (although not free) and it's tempted me on more than one occasion to sign up, I may yet do so.

One of the highlights of any visit to The Franklin is The Chihuly Collection which is on permanent display and included in the cost of admission. As the largest private Chihuly collection in a botanical garden the glass art accents the stunning scenes of the interior spaces of the Conservatory. I love taking friends here for the first time and pointing out the scenes set up in nearly every room and those set up as outdoor displays.  I've admired Chihuly's work since the early 1990's and have been lucky enough to have visited his school in Seattle. The colors and shapes of his art are simply astounding. 

But, wonderful as all of that is, the reason for the visit was the Halloween decorations. From the Scott's Miracle-Gro Foundation Children's Garden area to the Grand Mallway, displays were set up to thrill and entertain all ages. They had a holographic skeleton dance space for the little ones, a huge pumpkin house decked out in seasonal splendor, a pumpkin stack set up for terrific photo ops and after dark, many vignettes set up all over the grounds lit up in brilliant colors. Even the Paul Busse Garden Railway (a small scale train tracks and villages) was set up for the Halloween season with miniature pumpkins and haunted houses set up along the tracks. 

One of the most striking sights of any evening visit is found out on the mallway and is a large scale sculpture that reflects lighting and then in turn is back dropped by the illumination of the Glass Pavilion itself. The John F. Wolfe Palm House is the oldest portion of Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. Built in 1895 this grand Victorian-style glass greenhouse takes on a majestic aura when  decorated by internationally renowned light artist James Turrell’s architectural light installation. This permanent installation of approximately 7,000 small, computer-controlled LED light sources, most of which are obscured from direct view inside, performs each evening beginning at dusk. Stunning is the word that best describes this display. 

Visit my Google Album for more photos of this trip.