Visitors to Franklin Park Conservatory's Enchanted Express will visit small scaled wonders such as The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe, above middle, and the Taj Mahal, top. The exhibit runs through March 30.

About Paul Busse
A graduate of Ohio State University, Paul Busse installed his first model railroad at the Ohio State Fair in 1982. His imaginative garden railroads grew from his training as a landscape architect. First installed in 1991, his holiday train display at the New York Botanic Garden continues to draw tens of thousands of visitors each season and has become a much-loved tradition. His work has been featured at botanic gardens in Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. Busse and his team design and build the elements of each of his garden railways at his studio/workshop in Alexandria, Ky.
To learn more about Paul Busse and his work, visit appliedimagination.biz

all aboard the enchanted express

Franklin Park Conservatory’s newest exhibition takes visitors to the wonders of the world

Compiled by Lynn Snyder
Photos by Galen Ludwick Harris

Few of us will be able to see the great wonders of the world in person, but a new exhibit can take us around the world, even if only in our imaginations.

Franklin Park Conservatory’s Enchanted Express is an indoor garden railway adventure that travels through the conservatory’s plant collections to small, scaled architectural wonders of the world. Created by famed garden railroad designer Paul Busse, an Ohio State University graduate, Enchanted Express will be on display through March 30.

Busse created elaborate, three-dimensional structures made of natural materials including mosses, twigs, leaves and seeds. Amazingly accurate in detail, his creations look remarkably like they were constructed of the originally used materials. Only upon further inspection can the natural materials be identified. Bruce Harkey, executive director of the conservatory, said “Paul Busse’s creativity will delight visitors of all ages and will illustrate, in a whimsical way, the historical and literary connections between plants and people.”

Installed within the conservatory’s Himalayan Mountain, Rain Forest and Desert biomes, G-scale model trains travel “around the world” to vignettes of well-known places such as the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal. A plant of significance to each location or culture will be featured along with a character that tells the story of the plant’s importance to that society at that time. Other features: the Bodhnath stupa, Machu Picchu, the ancient, ruined Mayan city of Tikal, the Sphinx and Great Pyramids, Hagia Sophia and Petra. Of these sites, all but two were recently chosen for inclusion in a list of 21 finalists for the New Seven Wonders of the World; four were named official New Wonders of the World.

Signage with facts about the individual buildings and their related plants are located throughout the exhibition. In the conservatory’s Show House, the journey continues to imaginary places and the homes of well-known fairy tale characters including Rapunzel, the Three Little Pigs and the Old Woman in the Shoe. Children will delight in the magical woodland landscape as they search for their favorite characters.

Throughout the run of the Enchanted Express, related programs including lectures, hands-on nature crafts, curator tours and small-scale gardening classes will take place for all ages. On Nov. 22 and Dec. 26 to 28, the conservatory’s popular Family Holiday Break programs are scheduled and will include activities and performances related to the exhibition. Family Fun Saturdays, held the second Saturday of every month, will be similarly themed. Additional programming during the holiday season will include a Gingerbread Contest and special children’s programming between Christmas and New Year’s.

Enchanted Express will appeal to train lovers, history lovers and plant lovers of all ages. Memberships to the Conservatory are available for families wishing to make multiple trips to this engaging and entertaining exhibition.

Franklin Park Conservatory is located at 1777 E. Broad St., Columbus. Admission is $7.50 for adults, $6 for seniors and students and $4 for children ages 2 to 12. Conservatory members and children under age 2 are admitted free. Enchanted Express is included in the general admission price. The conservatory is open Tuesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Thanksgiving Eve, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
A full listing of all exhibition-related programs can be found at www.fpconservatory.org or call 614-645-8733.

Here is a list of the landmarks and plants featured in Enchanted Express:

In the Himalayan Mountain Biome
Landmark Featured Plant
The Great Wall of China, Beijing, China Tea
Buddhist Temple, Kathmandu, Nepal Lotus Flower
The Taj Mahal, Agra, India Jasmine

In the Rain Forest Biome
Landmark Featured Plant
Lost City of the Incas, Cuzco, Peru Potatoes
Mayan Ruins, Tikal, Guatemala Corn

In the Desert Biome
Landmark Featured Plant
Egyptian Pyramids, Giza, Egypt Papyrus
Hagia Sophia Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey Olives
Al-Dier Monastery, Petra, Jordan Spices

To comment on this article, e-mail info@ourohio.org

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Click here to login or register.