A pure sphere is surrounded by tortuous glass snakes. We also see the colors contrast (blue against red and pink) and the low bushes morphology against vertical elements.
It has been a pleasure for me to visit the Chihuly Gardens and Glass in Seattle, back in May 2022. The indoors exhibition is fantastic, though a colleague of mine thinks it is somehow kitsch, Chihuly's sculptures are truly impressive.
Regarding the gardens, I was lucky that even though the day was grey, with some drizzle, I could walk around and take pictures to share on my landscape blog.
Of course many of us have no means of installing expensive pieces of art in our gardens, but at least we can see and learn about the combinations that could be recreated with any other sculptures. Captions are added per my own perceptions as an architect and artist, to help my readers have an interpretation of the landscape design.
All pictures belong to my personal archives, please do not share without permission.
Organic glass shapes mixed with low plants, in a sort of mimesis design. The red emerges as a group of freestanding independent flowers. The background is a solid mass of bushes.
Striking red as a totem sculpture against evergreen green trees. Note the different textures, the soft and the rough branches.
On the building side, the composition looks more architectural. This is not a mimesis, there is no way we can confuse those independent striking black sculptures with nature. The black is in contrast with the white flowers but closer to the gray-purple wild grass.
More red-orange like freestanding flowers against the evergreen. Note the somehow matching trees with the reddish trunks and leaves.
Here is a better view of the red arrangement. A low sphere inserted in the evergreen and the tall red-orange flowing lines against the reddish trunks. Note how the color is fading to the path with yellowish low plants. The height is decreasing to the path and the red emerges like flames.
A sort of mimesis, with green tones. Note how the real bushes and trees vary from dark to light green.
Striking red vertical elements among the light green foliage. The color turns yellowish to the path and the height is decreased.
Vertical light purple sculptures among matching color flowers. The pretty lemon-green on the foreground. The background, tall evergreen trees right in front of the base of the Space Needle, as a transition of the impressive Space Needle's scale.
I like this one a lot. A center piece of a sculptural trunk has been selected to be surrounded by the vertical glass sculptures. All of them connected by a green "carpet". Note how the tree branch is left free to extend above the trunk. I think of it like a metaphor of people venerating a god with the branch overseeing like a major deity from the sky.
This yellow glass tree looks pretty funny on top of the textured mound. But let us see in the next picture how it is seen from afar.
The yellow glass tree as seen from afar. I did not have the intention to have people in my pictures but it is unavoidable. It is clear how this "tree" is a focus of attention. Behind the path, layers with different textures and colors can be seen: lower white flowers, the red maple, the green bush circle, the grey-purple mound and the focal point.
It is important for landscape designers to move away from the point of interest and evaluate how it looks when we (farther) walk around.
Note how the scale is diminishing towards the building. Besides, the color is darkened to emphasize the perspective.
The glass white structure as a transition between the indoor-outdoor. The red-yellow glass sculpture is hanging in the empty space and is aligned with the yellow glass tree at the end of the perspective. The green is involving the space and we can feel we are in between architecture and landscape.
If you ever have the chance to visit the Chihuly Gardens do not forget to look up and see how the Space Needle emerges so huge behind.
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