Photos: Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens unveils spring display
It’s a stunning display of more than 80,000 flowers to welcome spring at Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens. The first day of spring was Monday, and the new exhibit was timed to also celebrate Japan’s rich and vibrant culture with elements that make for a journey of the senses.
Designer Ed Libby and the Bellagio Horticulture team envisioned the display and brought it to life with time-honored Japanese customs. For three decades, Ed Libby & Company Events has designed majestic floral-and-crystal compositions for recording artists, actors and companies across the U.S., including “The Wall Street Concert Series” featuring Beyonce, Kanye West and Las Vegas headliners Sir Rod Stewart and Lionel Richie.
Ed’s company also has created multiple installations for the annual Macy’s Flower Show in Herald Square. Most recently, he brought his expertise and artistic touch to MGM National Harbor, the new casino resort outside Washington, D.C., with a series of seasonal displays that will be on show throughout 2017.
Visitors enter Bellagio Conservatory through a 25-foot Torii Gate adorned in pink-and-white lotus flowers. Capturing guests’ attention at the entryway is a 35-foot Kabuki character rising from a 60-foot-wide pink lotus flower. Comprised of 5,000 flowers, the Kabuki figure holds a 25-foot-tall Samurai sword symbolizing power and protection in one hand and a 4-foot-wide white pearl symbolizing prosperity and beauty in the other.
Two 4-foot cranes signifying longevity and 10 hand-painted butterflies denoting eternity are suspended in midair above the West Bed. In the North Garden, passersby encounter a 26-foot-tall Japanese temple inspired by Kyoto’s Kinkaku-ji. Adorned in gold veneer and built with wood frames, the place of reflection rests on a shore of water between intricately designed birdcages. In the South Garden, a Japanese tea house is nestled among cherry blossom and bonsai trees.
Honoring the 9th century Japanese tea ceremony of grace, etiquette and hospitality, the 12-foot-tall house is made of bamboo and other natural materials and accented with mineral copper. A turtle topiary of 1,000 flowers complements the garden.
“Everything inside the conservatory pays homage to the vibrant Japanese culture and takes inspiration from Sandro Botticelli’s painting “The Birth of Venus,” as well as Kabuki, a treasured art form in Japan,” said Ed.
“I was thrilled when I was asked to design Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, which is such an iconic Las Vegas destination. My event creations generally last for a few hours, so it’s been a true honor to design something that lasts for a few months. This display has allowed me to express myself as an artist in a new way and took my skill set to a new level.”
A final fun fact: It took 2,000 flowers to create the butterfly topiaries. Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens is free to visitors and open 24 hours a day seven days a week through May 14.