Missouri Botanical Garden Glow

in the snow globe

Last night we had the opportunity to attend a dinner celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Deer Creek Watershed Alliance at the Missouri Botanical Garden. SWT Design has been an active partner in the project for quite a long while, so we were invited the celebration. It was an interesting mix of people, and the organization has a reason to be proud of all the accomplishments.

The evening was specifically designed to take advantage of the Garden Glow at the facility. Consisting of over one million lights, the Garden Glow gets bigger and better each year. Following the dinner and program, we were free to walk through the garden. Of particular fun this year was the addition of the Twelve Days of Christmas displays, of which some pieces were interactive. You could be one of the 12 drummers drumming, for example. I couldn't help but laugh as I passed by the various pieces, because my dad absolutely hated that song.

While it was a little chilly out, we had dressed accordingly and so it was a fairly pleasant night to walk through the garden. There were not many people out viewing the exhibit yet, so we could just take our time and enjoy the show. The Missouri Botanical Garden continues to amaze and amuse me year round.

Garden Glow 2018

How Does Your Garden Glow?

lighting the way to the Climatron

Beginning in 2013, the Missouri Botanical Garden has offered patrons the opportunity to see the garden in a different light, so to speak, by illuminating the garden. As opposed to the other holiday displays around town, this one allows you to walk through the lights where you have the opportunity to look as long as you like without having cars behind you forcing you to move along. Each year the exhibit has grown, and this year over 1 million LED lights shine through the garden.

As one of the corporate sponsors of the garden, our company was invited to a special preview night on November 16th. After grabbing something to eat and drink in the Ridgeway Center, we made our way outside. The temperature was in the low 60's, which is extremely unusual for St. Louis in mid-November. I expected the place to be packed as it has been the other three years we have attended this event. However, that was not the case, surprisingly. Maybe the early date threw people off. It was great for us as we could take our time with each display, and even experience the photo op locations, which I imagine will be packed once the Garden Glow is open to the public beginning tonight.

If you haven't had the opportunity to visit the Garden Glow, I highly recommend it. It's a totally different way to experience one of my favorite places in St. Louis.

Garden Glow

How Does Your Garden Glow?

For the first time ever the Missouri Botanical Garden is lighting up the night with hundreds of thousands of lights. I have had the opportunity to attend the Garden Glow twice so far, once on corporate sponsor night, and once for a photography class. Both nights were very cold, but that just adds to the ambiance of an outdoor light show. There is something so magical about walking through a large light display rather than just riding through it in your car. In keeping with their sustainable practices, the displays consist of energy-efficient LED lights. They are also using solar panels to recharge the AA batteries that power the lights. For the most part this seems to be working, although one path on my second night there was dark for a bit. I am sure that some tweaking will fix the issue. I highly recommend going to the Garden Glow, and pick a cold night if you can stand it. The crowds are much smaller, and there are warming fire pits throughout the displays. It is certain to get you in the Christmas spirit!