“Alice in Wonderland” is the inspiration behind Como’s Summer Flower Show opening June 12
The longest-running flower display of the year, the Summer Flower Show is now also the most literary, taking its inspiration from Lewis Carroll’s timeless tale, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Set to run June 12 through September 13, Como’s horticulturists have been at work all week turning the Sunken Garden into a wonderland of its own, with floral allusions to the White Rabbit, the Red Queen, and everything in between.
“The whole show will have a really narrative feel,” says apprentice designer Leela Karlson. “The beginning will take visitors down the rabbit hole, and then going in, the garden tea party with the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, and then at the end, it’ll be all about the Red Queen. Visitors will see some fun topiaries, some props, and it’ll just be very fun and whimsical.”
For instance, horticulturists will suggest the tea party vibe with plants and flowers that feature cup-shaped leaves, saucers of succulents, and soft pastels. Meanwhile, crimson-colored flowers allude to the Red Queen, the most dangerous croquet player on the page.
Telling stories through flowers and plants has been a theme this year in the Sunken Garden, which kicked off this spring with a flower show inspired by the myth of Persephone, the Greek goddess of growth. But what’s also special about this show is that it was designed by a team of horticultural apprentices from RightTrack, the City of St. Paul’s career development program, which engages youth from cost-burdened households with part- and full-time employment opportunities around the city. While unpaid internships have long been part of the expected career path for aspiring horticulturists, the RightTrack program provides full- and part-time pay to high school youth and college students eligible for the program, removing economic barriers to participation, and cultivating a more diverse workforce.
Karlson, a senior at the University of Minnesota, has been part of the program for more than a year, taking advantage of opportunities to learn about everything from bonsai training to the operations of Como’s 30,000-square-foot growing range. “During the school year I’m juggling school and two other jobs, so being full-time at Como gave me the chance to really focus and make the most of this experience,” she says. “As a landscape architecture major, it’s really important to understand horticulture, too, and this has given me that chance. Having this kind of experience is incredibly useful on my resume.”
To learn more about what Como’s RightTrack apprentices have accomplished this year, check out the summer edition of the Como Friends Insider, arriving in mailboxes later this month. Thanks to contributions from people like you, Como’s “Alice in Wonderland” summer flower show is free to every visitor, and on display through September 13. Please note: the Sunken Garden will be closed for maintenance purposes from June 21 to July 8.
Enjoy a sneak peek at part two of Como’s Spring Flower Show, now through June 7
Following the elegant and literary Persephone show, the Sunken Garden has undergone yet another transformation this season for part two of the Spring Flower Show now through June 7. Designed by Como horticulturist Bo Akinkuotu, the display features rich colors in high contrast, and a host of unusual flowers.
“At this point on the calendar, we can safely say we’re in spring,” Akinkuotu says. “So a lot of the plants you’ll see here are not frost tolerant—they’re late spring flowers that feel like we’re getting a little jump on the season.”
Peachy orange blooms like Asiatic lily ‘Lava Joy’, calla lily ‘Havana’, hibiscus ‘Orange Sunset’, and peach-colored begonias were chosen to contrast with deep blue verbena, lobelia, and fragrant heliotrope. Visitors will also notice a few scene-stealers mixed in with more traditional choices.
“One flower visitors may not have seen before is calceolaria, sometimes called the pocketbook plant, which has these pouch-shaped flowers,” he says. Another is the gladiator allium, a special ornamental onion that reaches heights of five feet, with round purple flower heads that resemble a plant from Dr. Seuss.
A favorite rite of spring, Como’s Spring Flower Show is free to visitors and open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through June 7.
Nearly 700 poinsettias just made their debut as part of the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory’s annual holiday flower show. After being relocated to Como’s Visitor Center last year to accommodate the construction of the Sunken Garden’s new ADA-accessible ramps, the beloved seasonal flower show has returned to its roots this season.
“I would say this year’s show is traditional, but with a twist,” says Como horticulturist Bo Akinkuotu, who designed the show, now on display through January 4.
Fans of TikTok’s viral “Ralph Lauren Christmas” vibe will definitely like the rich red bracts featured in more traditional varieties such as Ruby Red, Pure White, and Jubilee Red. Visitors will also discover outside-the-box accent plants such as Duranta, Kalanchoe, Alyssum, Dusty Miller, and Green Envy poinsettias, an arresting chartreuse varietal.
“There are some camps that really prefer the familiar, traditional reds, and others that want to see something new every time they come to the Sunken Garden,” he says. “With this show, we’re trying to strike a balance by featuring some familiar favorites along with some new elements.”
As many home gardeners know, cultivating these temperamental tropical plants in the cold of winter takes careful planning and attention to detail. “They can be a little bit fussy as a houseplant, and most people probably don’t have the patience for it,” he says.
As in years past, poinsettias will be available for purchase in the Como Friends Gift Shop throughout the holiday season, with every sale helping support the plants and animals we all love at Como.
In fact, Akinkuotu started preparing for the show several months ago, planting more than 1,500 poinsettias and accent plants to create adequate replacements for plants that may fade or lose their leaves during the course of the show. During the final eight weeks of the growing cycle, shades were drawn over the poinsettia growing area to help bring them into bloom. Plunging the plants into darkness for at least 13 hours a day is the key to creating the brightly colored bracts that make them a holiday favorite.
Como visitors can enjoy a profusion of poinsettias in the Sunken Garden, daily through January 4. Thanks to your contributions to Como Friends, the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory’s five seasonal flower shows are always free to visitors.
Plant List
Alyssum (Carpet of Snow); Caladium (Gingerland); Chamaecyperus; Coastal rosemary Coleus; Dieffenbachia; Duranta (Lrg Gold Edge); Duranta (Med Gold Edge); Duranta (Sm Gold Edge); Dusty Miller; Silver Dust; Euphorbia (Starblast Pink) Jacoranda; Kalanchoe (Fuego); Lemon cypress; Pittosporum; Poinsettia Ruby Red (Lrg); Poinsettia Ruby Red ; Poinsettia Green Envy; Poinsettia Jubilee Red; Poinsettia Pure White; Rosemary topiaries
Horticulturist Rylee Werden plays with perspective in the first half of the Fall Flower Show with the Parallax View
The second half of the Fall Flower Show features a saturated palette and poisonous plants
After a sunny start to the Fall Flower Show, the mood in Minnesota’s most beautiful room has gone a little Goth, with the introduction of a new palette of saturated black, red, and purple chrysanthemums, and the third Mum color is a light pink and white bicolor flower, “Spring Pink”, to contrast the dark colors.
“After the brightness of the first half of the show, you’ll notice a very different feel to the room with these deeper, darker colors,” says horticulturist Rylee Werden, who designed both halves of the Fall Flower Show, now on display through November 30.
In keeping with the Halloween feel of the season, visitors have been very interested in a featured tomato-relative—the Naranjilla plant, Solanum quiotense—a variety known as “bed of nails” for the seemingly blood-letting spikes on its leaves. Complementing the dark traditional mums are purple datura, a poisonous plant that Werden grew from seed she collected at home.
“They’re a favorite with visitors because they do smell great, but you shouldn’t eat them!” she says.
Thanks to your contributions to Como Friends, the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory is open every day of the year and is always free to visitors. The Fall Flower Show runs through November 30, and the Holiday Flower Show begins December 5.
If you’d like a sneak peek at Como’s traditional Poinsettia display, Como Friends donors and members are invited to a Special Access Event on December 4.
No matter what time of year you visit the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory’s Sunken Garden, the elevated view from the entryway is always stunning. But after designing several seasonal flower shows for Minnesota’s most beautiful room, Como horticulturist Rylee Werden began to wonder what it would be like to play a little more with perspective as visitors move through the room.
Inspired by the geometric patterns and intersecting lines of Art Deco, Werden decided to design the first half of the Fall Flower Show, on display now through October 19, with a sense of movement in mind. The view from the top reveals hundreds of chrysanthemums arranged in a chevron, Werden explains, “a big zig-zag across the center of the room, that features stripes of three different colors of mum—–orange, dark pink, and plum.” As visitors descend to the garden path, they’ll begin to pick up on a parallax view, she says, a perceptual phenomenon where an object’s apparent position shifts when viewed from different angles.
“I always try to think about the different perspectives of someone walking through the garden,” she says. “As you get down to the garden path, the perspective changes and you’ll see some nice grass between the mums to rest your eye, and you’ll see through those angles a bit differently.”
Como’s fall chrysanthemum show has been a tradition since 1915, the same year that Como’s historic Como Conservatory first opened to the public. Around the world, the chrysanthemum is seen as a symbol of longevity and happiness, but in the Midwest, the fall flower’s rich coloring and spicy scent also remind us that winter’s not far away. “That’s why it’s a great time to slow down, and enjoy the changing colors, which I think visitors will see reflected in the room,” Werden says.
Mums also signal the important role that fall’s flowering plants play in fostering healthy ecosystems. “In outdoor gardens, especially those with native plants, fall flowers are so important to feeding those pollinators before their big migrations,” she says. “Flowers like aster and goldenrod give our insects and our wildlife that last bit of juice or food they need to get them through the winter.” To see those connections, Werden suggests that visitors also stop by the Minnesota Garden, a collection of native and adaptive plants in front of Como’s Visitor Center, where horticulturists over-winter native plants to benefit birds and other wildlife. “It’s a more natural lens on what we do in the display garden to signal fall, with seed heads and plants that look ready for harvesting, like chard, broom corn, and celosia flowers.”
Cultivars of some of these native plants will be featured in the second half of the Fall Flower Show, which will be on display from October 24 through November 30. Thanks to your support for Como Friends, the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory’s five seasonal flower shows are always free to visitors.
Your support for Como Friends helps ensure the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory’s seasonal flower shows are always free to every visitor. Thank you!
Bursting with black-eyed susans, butterfly weed, and dahlia, the national plant of Mexico, the new pollinator garden surrounding Como Park Zoo & Conservatory’s seasonal Gates Ajar sends a strong signal: Monarchs Welcome Here!
Designed by Como horticulturist Marie Day, the historic mosaiculture features a high-contrast mix of more than 10,000 alternanthera and echeveria plants arranged into the shape of a butterfly’s wings. The surrounding bed is a pollinator garden full of monarch-friendly plants that keep these beneficial bugs going on their extraordinary 2,500-mile migration from Minnesota to central Mexico each year.
A Como tradition with roots that date back to 1894, Gates Ajar was a favorite turn-of-the-century attraction that reflected the strong influence of European floriculture fashion of the time. Each year, the display requires more than 100 gardener hours to fully install, and more than 45 minutes a day of dedicated watering. With your support for Como Friends, this Minnesota mosaiculture tradition is still growing strong more than 125 years since its start. Thank you!
Located near the Como Park Pavilion, we hope you can take a stroll to mingle with the monarchs soon. Thank you!
PLANT LIST
Walls and pillars of Gates Ajar | Succulents: Echeveria (hens and chicks); Graptopetalum (ghost plant); Graptosedum; Moss (rose portulaca)
Flower beds and base of Gates Ajar | Cardinal flower; Marigold; Butterfly weed; Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan); Salvia (North American native cultivar); Dahlia (Native plant of Mexico); Cosmos (Mexican native cultivar); Zinnia (Mexican native cultivar); Sweet potato vine; Sunflower
Background and Draping | Alternanthera (Joseph’s coat); Lysimachia (Creeping Jenny); Vinca vine; Dichondra; Ivy
Claude Monet’s gardens at Giverny inspired this season’s Part 1 Spring Flower Show, and Part 2 is dedicated to cool lavender blues
Designed by Horticulturist Bo Akinkuotu, the second part of the Spring Flower Show, open now through June 8, has washed Minnesota’s most beautiful room in the coolest of lavender blues. Enjoy this cottage garden filled with tall spires of blue delphinium and white lilies, calendula, stock, ageratum, and more!
The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory highlights five stunning flower shows each year. Your support for Como Friends helps make it possible. Thank you!
“My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.” —Claude Monet
The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory’s Spring Flower Show will open March 21. Inspired by artist Claude Monet’s paintings of his beloved gardens at Giverny in France’s Normandy region, the first half of the show, running through April 27, highlights the Impressionist’s color palette of lavender, light blue, pink, and peach.
While horticulturist Ariel Dressler puts the finishing touches on Minnesota’s most beautiful room, Como Friends’ creative director Susannah Baudhuin went behind the scenes for this photographic sneak peek of the more than 7,000 bulbs, plugs, plants, and flowers about to make their debut.
“It’s on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way. So we must dig and delve unceasingly.” —Claude Monet
Numerous shades of ranunculus, peach foxglove, and pink snapdragons will complement show-stopping bulb selections that include blue hyacinth, pink daffodils, purple crocus, with a blend of lavender, white, and pink tulips.
Following a mid-show change from April 28 to May 2, tall spires of blue delphinium and purple foxglove will be the backdrop for a cottage garden collection of flowers including calendula, stock, ageratum, and more.
Remember to save the date for Garden Safari Gifts’ annual bulb sale on Monday, April 28, 2025. Stay tuned for details in our next Como Promo and Social Media posts.
Como insiders know that Garden Safari Gifts is the place to go if you’re looking for that perfect Sparky t-shirt, puzzles and games for kids, and plush animals in the shape of nearly every species on the planet.
What you might not know is that every year, proceeds from Como Friends’ gift shop support the plants, animals, and people that converge at Como Park Zoo & Conservatory.
“The retail operation at Garden Safari Gifts has always been a big part of our business model at Como Friends, and its success is one of the reasons that Como Park Zoo & Conservatory continues to be free to visitors,” says Como Friends President Jackie Sticha. “Not only is it fun to shop there, but when you do, you’re helping to support the things that make Como so special.”
While small retail shops have been part of Como’s campus for years, Garden Safari Gifts was originally opened in 2005 as part of the Visitor Center expansion, with satellite shops later launched at Como Town, Gorilla Forest, and Polar Bear Odyssey during the busy summer months. “Consistent profits, especially in the early years, were important to establishing Como Friends as a strong nonprofit,” says Terri Scheunemann, Como Friends’ director of retail operations.
From the start, Como souvenirs and animal-themed gifts have been big sellers with visitors. But more recently, Garden Safari Gifts has curated a collection of more sustainably sourced and conservation-minded gifts, from beeswax food wrappers, to bags and bedspreads made from recycled cloth, and reusable straws and water bottles to help cut down on single-use plastics. “Supporting Como’s conservation mission has definitely been a growing part of our marketing plan, and our visitors seem to really like it,” says Sheila Wewers, Como Friends’ associate director of retail operations.
While most items at Garden Safari Gifts sell for less than $20, every purchase you make there has had a powerful impact at Como, investing in everything from cutting-edge animal care, to accessible education programs, to gorgeous public gardens. “Simply making the decision to shop at Garden Safari Gifts can help make great things happen at Como,” says Sticha. “Whether you make direct donations or shop with us, it’s all part of the community support that Como depends on.”
Remember, during the holiday season Como Friends members enjoy 20 percent off every purchase at Garden Safari Gifts through December 31.
In the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory we bid a fond farewell to the Summer Flower Show ending on September 22, and a warm welcome to the Fall Flower Show opening on September 27
The annual shift from warm summer sunshine to crisp autumn glow seems to happen overnight, but at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory, this seasonal change takes months of careful planning. As Como’s Summer Flower Show fades on September 22, and the Fall Flower Show comes into bloom on September 27, check out this pictorial preview of the behind-the-scenes prep work that helps Minnesota’s most beautiful room make a change of season.
Horticulturist Rylee Werden and RightTrack Apprentice Willow are collaborating to bring their vision of an autumn sunset to life in Minnesota’s most beautiful room. “Other than the mums of course, we are planning to feature a variety of fall plants in sunset colors including yarrow, celosia, ornamental peppers, chard, violas, heuchera, kales, sunflowers, marigolds, millet and grass,” says Werden.
A first-time show for Willow, who has been working closely with the entire horticulture team for more than a year now. “It’s been great to hear Willow’s ideas and incorporate my vision and hers together,” says Werden. “We are really excited to see everyone’s reaction to our ombre color scheme from around the pool to try to mimic our inspiration of a sunset on the water.” Here’s a sneak peek.
Como’s chrysanthemum show has been a tradition since 1915, but you’ve never seen a fall flower show quite like this one! With an “Under the Sea” theme, the display includes anemone mums, green stingray colcassia, spider mums, and succulents that combine to create a cool octopus’s garden vibe in Minnesota’s most beautiful room. Check out this photo preview, and make plans to see it before October 30, when the fall flower show’s second half transforms into a celebration of Dia de los Muertos.
Did you know that the succulents used in the Fall Flower Show are the very same succulents used in the Gates Ajar display this summer!
Open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day, the Fall Flower Show is always free to visitors, thanks to your contributions to Como Friends.
The biodiversity of Como’s rainforest habitat requires complex care
“When we try to pick out anything by itself,” the famous naturalist John Muir once wrote, “we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.”
The profound interdependence of plants, animals and people is one of the lessons Como Park Zoo & Conservatory strives to convey to more than a million visitors every year, and nowhere is that lesson more evident than in Tropical Encounters. Opened in 2006, the immersive rainforest habitat features an extensive array of tropical plants and trees, and an equally diverse range of animals, from high-flying tanagers, to a slithering anaconda, to Chloe, Como’s beloved free-ranging sloth.
With so many living things under one roof, Como Zoo keepers and Marjorie McNeely Conservatory horticulturists collaborate closely within Tropical Encounters to ensure that making a change in one corner of the habitat doesn’t have negative impacts for other residents of the rainforest. That’s why the Tropical Encounters team is taking its time on a major soil replacement project this season paid for by your contributions to Como Friends.
Visitors this summer may notice that horticulturists are taking a staged approach to the process, removing spent soil from one location at a time, to make sure that the root systems of rainforest trees and the animals that live in the vicinity are all thriving. The effort is a little bit like repotting a giant terrarium, says horticulturist Diane Rafats: “We do take special care in this habitat. Everything we do here can affect everything that lives here.”
Private support secured by Como Friends is critical to making behind-the-scenes improvements that keep every corner of the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory healthy and thriving. This year, Como Friends’ funding will also support a new lighting system for the North Garden’s gorgeous collection of economic plants, a new sound system to improve the experience for visitors, and a new design plan to renovate and repair Como’s popular Victorian Water Garden pool. Thank you!