By Jack Brittle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
On February 1, the Royal Botanical Gardens (RGB) will open its first independent winter exhibition to the public, entitled “Alice in Bloomland,” a spin, of course, on Lewis Carroll’s 1865 children’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
The team at RGB Centre has transformed the building into a reinterpretation of Alice’s Wonderland, featuring a giant Mad Hatter’s hat, tea parties, the Queen of Hearts’ knights, the White Rabbit’s house, and plenty of clocks.
The principal flowers on display are orchids, but roses, delphiniums, hellebores, primula, and ranunculus spring bulbs are featured prominently as well.
Kimberly Viney, RBG’s chief operating officer, explained the idea behind the winter exhibition.
“Typically through February and March, we host some sort of a winter exhibit,” said Viney. “Obviously, weather is such that not a lot of people are enjoying gardens at that time of year. So we look to create some programming that brings people indoors at RBG. This is the first time that we have not gone out and rented an external exhibit.”
Viney said that this is the first year that they have designed, built, and operated the exhibit completely in-house. She also said that the theme of this year’s exhibition is nostalgia.
They decided on a floral exhibition, Viney explained, as those are a very common choice for botanical garden programming in the winter months.
She also commented on the timelessness of the original novel.
“A lot of people as kids read the book and are sharing it with their children or grandchildren at this point, but there’s also a lot of very strong visuals in the story, and we just thought that would be a great combination and a great way to build a floral show,” Viney said.
Viney spoke about all the people involved in the project.
“There were four of us that were the key design team and builders of the show,” Viney said. “And then it’s been supported by dozens of volunteers, our entire operations staff, our entire marketing team. A lot of our gardeners and horticulturists who work outside have been helping as well. Our retail team has been out in the market looking for themed merchandise. And then our whole food and beverage team, because we’ve done a whole new menu for the tea house.”
“I would say every aspect of our business has been touched by this,” Viney continued. “So there’s very few people within our organization that won’t have contributed.”
Viney designed the first 12 installations that serve as the “foundation of the show.”
After the initial designs were finished, Viney collaborated with fellow RGB employees to flesh out the piece and decide which flowers to use.
Kathleen Hutcheson, an indoor horticulturist, spoke about the use of flowers in “Bloomland.”
“We tried to pick some unique colouration of plants and plants that would withstand the duration of the exhibit,” Hutcheson said. “And we also want to make it interesting. We don’t want the same plants throughout the whole building. Although we have utilized a lot of orchids, we have utilized them in different ways and different displays. So, even though they’re orchids, some of them are so unique that people would wonder if they’re a real plant.”
“Every area that we’ve implemented or utilized plants is different,” Hutcheson said. “And the colourations of things are different, right from the front door, to the back of the house. It’s going to be a unique experience in every sort of cultural way that you could have.”
Also featured as part of the exhibit is a collaboration with CoBALT Connects, a non-profit social enterprise, on a fibre arts exhibit titled “Of Wonders, Wild and New.” This is not the first time RBG has worked with CoBALT Connects; indeed, they were the team that created the “For the Spring of 1883” mural that covers the tunnel connecting the RBG Centre to Hendrie Gardens. That project was inspired by the RBG’s collection of vintage seed catalogues. CoBALT Connects has also been the force behind a number of other projects in Burlington, including the Burlington Waterfront Sculpture Trail, the Dan Lawrie International Sculpture Collection (also at the RBG), and “Hang on, sister; Hold on, friend,” a large-scale installation of artist Stylo Starr’s vibrant collage work at Mapleview Mall last year.
For “Of Wonders, Wild and New,” the textiles were designed by eight different artists from Denmark, Mexico, Hamilton, Toronto, Vancouver, India, and the United States.
Admittance for the textile exhibit is included with Alice in Bloomland tickets.
The RBG is also offering an “After Dark” Alice in Bloomland experience with cocktails, food, and music, as well as Mad Hatter Tea Parties, where guests can enjoy “Eat Me” treats, “Drink Me” teas, and a variety of sandwich selections.
Viney commented on how the show will mirror the growing and shrinking that Alice does in the novel.
“In terms of the scale, Alice shrinks and grows throughout the story,” Viney said. “So the scale of some of this work is going to make you feel kind of small. And that’ll be an entire experience within the show itself. So we’re trying to just make it a very immersive, tactile experience as you walk through the entire indoor space.”
Hutcheson also said there will be a revolving cast of flowers throughout the duration of the exhibition.
Alice in Bloomland will run on Tuesdays to Sundays from February 1 to March 30, and is a time-ticketed event. Separate reservations are required for the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, which takes place at the Tea House, and for Alice in Bloomland After Dark (on Feb. 20 and March 20 only, for those aged 19 and over).
To find out more about Alice in Bloomland and purchase tickets, click here.
