Spring snow getting you down? Edina floral display aims to plunge you into sea of beauty
EDINA, Minn. — One way to get away from our sloppy snowstorm is to go under the sea. This year's Galleria Floral Experience is now open in the shopping center. Inspired by ocean flora and fauna, it features a mix of blooming gardens and larger-than-life sea creatures.
Behind the scenes, it's quickly clear that beauty takes "tons of time," as per Marc Scamp, lead fabricator for the project. Or perhaps it's more that time makes beauty.
Patrick Warden, director of landscape & garden services at Bachman's Floral & Garden, says this year's spring floral show uses some imagination to go "Into the Deep."
"It's a different type of show," said Warden. "Not many of us have been to the bottom of the sea but with all the great plants it's been a lot of fun and it's challenging us creatively."
Scamp reiterated that the show is all about the flowers, not props. It's all pulled together by the two very different men with two separate specialties and one focus.
More than 100 different types of flowers, trees, and plants are part of the display designed by landscape architect Bryan Kramer. Just days before installation at the Galleria Mall in Edina, Warden and his team at Bachman's are still getting pieces in — natural beauty from as far away as Holland that they nurture to peak at just the right time.
"It's fun to try and get some of these trees and stuff to flower. You're basically tricking them out of sleep," said Warden.
Scamp and his crew have been building and fabricating floating jellyfish, a giant octopus and other sea creatures to draw visitors in. The goal to be big and grand does require some trial and error.
"You had to put the fabric on and then weld inside the fish. The learning curve was really steep. I set a lot of fish on fire," said Scamp.
For both teams, it's about creating a realistic immersive experience. Installers work five overnights to bring the 20 blooming displays and vignettes to life inside.
"There's been nights where I'm working and I'll see people walking in the mall and I'm like what is going on and the mall walkers have showed up and the sun's coming up outside and you're like I guess we're done for the day," said Scamp.
When the work is complete and the show is open, the Galleria Floral experience is a work of art, from every bloom to every sea creature.
"You take these ordinary objects, and you make them spectacular, crazy-looking and people are just like, 'Wow,'" said Scamp.
There are also 10 mermaid gardens hidden throughout the display for the kids to find.
The floral experience is free, and it will be in place at the Galleria in Edina until April 7.
