Photo Flash: Mounts Botanical Garden Dedicates New Windows on the Floating World

Friends of the Mounts Botanical Garden hosted the official dedication of Windows on the Floating World: Blume Tropical Wetland Garden on Tuesday, June 13. The stunning new garden features a series of walkways and permanent and changing aquatic plant displays that allow visitors to feel and connect to the tropical wetlands around them.

More than 70 local officials, members of the Mounts board of directors, cultural dignitaries, garden patrons and key construction and design personnel cheered and applauded as the new waterfall started to flow and flourish the surrounding wetland.

Also on hand were representatives from the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Countiesthat is funding the garden's new Ambassadors of the Wetlands education initiative to promote wetland stewardship and water conservation.

"The immersive installation of Windows on the Floating World reveals the full spectrum of the Blume Tropical Wetland Garden at Mounts," says Ron Rice, Director, Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension. "The new, environmentally-friendly boardwalks, benches and displays allow visitors to relax, reflect, and learn about ecology and our critical need to conserve and protect fresh water."

The official Public Grand Opening of Windows on the Floating World will be this Sunday, June 18, from 10 am to 4 pm, during the annual Tropical Fruit Festival at Mounts Botanical Garden.

Named after Mounts supporter Margaret Blume, the stunning new garden was designed by artists Mags Harries and Lajos Héder, in collaboration with WGI's landscape architecture division. Windows on the Floating World features open-gridded, 4-foot wide walkways on the surface of the wetlands to give visitors the feeling of walking on water. Within these walks are four "windows" planted with aquatics and changed out with rotating and seasonal botanical exhibits growing from submerged containers. Additional highlights include waterfalls flowing over natural stone, an area for wading birds, and a wall covered with Bromeliads, offering some of the best foliage colors in the plant kingdom.

The creation of Windows on the Floating World was led by Palm Beach County's Art in Public Placesprogram whose mission is to provide art that complements public buildings, parks and plazas; create a sense of place; enhance community identity; improve design of public infrastructure; and contribute to the missions of the county departments where projects are sited.

This new garden at Mounts was generously funded in part by Margaret Blume, The Batchelor Foundation, Hedrick Brothers Construction, Palm Beach County, Heartsong Waterscapes, A-Cut-Above, WGI, Dr. & Mrs. Pedro Diaz and Friends of the Mounts Botanical Garden.

About Mounts Botanical Garden of Palm Beach County:

With a mission to inspire the public, Mounts Botanical Garden offers gorgeous displays of tropical and sub-tropical plants, plus informative classes, workshops, and other fun-filled events. The Garden contains more than 2,000 species of plants, including Florida native plants, exotic and tropical fruit trees, herbs, palms, bromeliads and more. Mounts Botanical Garden is a facility of the Palm Beach County Extension Service, which is in partnership with the University of Florida and the Friends of Mounts Botanical Garden.

Located at 531 North Military Trail in West Palm Beach, Mounts Botanical Garden of Palm Beach County is open Monday-Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The suggested donation for entry to the Garden is $5 per person. For more information, please call 561.233.1757 or visit www.mounts.org.

Photo credit: Jacek Gancarz

Rochelle Wolberg, Sandy Smith, Elayna Toby Singer and Ron Rice
Matt Boyson, Todd Bonlarron, Elayna Toby Singer, Dave Dolan, Ron Rice, Mike Page and Joel Crippen
Margaret Blume
Joel Crippen, Mike Page, Matt Boyson, Rochelle Wolberg, Kirsten Siegel, Sean Kauffman, David G. Dolan, Diana Eaton, Jack Ullrich, Doug Thomas, Elayna Toby Singer, Chris Laforte, Dale Hedrick, Damon Rockett and Cathy Burk-Hedrick
Daryl Houston, Rochelle Wolberg, Charlotte Laurent Ottomane, and Bradley C. Hurlburt
Elayna Toby Singer, Sandy Smith, Margaret Blume, Ron Rice and Dr. Robert Blume
Elayna Toby Singer, Sandy Smith, Kirsten Siegel, Dale R. Hedrick, Rochelle Wolberg, and Ron Rice
Dale Hedrick, Ron Rice, Rochelle Wolberg, Jorge Pesquera, Kirsten Siegel, Todd Bonlarron, Sandy Smith, Margaret, and Dr. Robert Blume.
Windows on the Floating World: Blume Tropical Wetland Garden
Ron Rice, Mike Zimmerman, Tom Brockway, William B. Grady, Molly Sims, Jeffrey P. Phipps, Sr., Julie Criser, Julie Kime, Sandy Smith and Polly Reed
Crowd