In addition to being bright and beautiful, this year’s fall flower show at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens will be a little bit spooky and kooky.
“Fall Flower Show: Happy Troll-O-Ween” will feature the usual array of chrysanthemums in a kaleidoscope of fall colors, along with the mythical creatures that made their debut in the summer show, “The Hidden Life of Trolls.”
“The trolls lend themselves really well to a fall show,” said Joe Reed, Phipps director of marketing and communications. “We strongly considered the possibility (of using them in the fall show) from the outset.”
The trolls, both stationary and animatronic, were a favorite feature of the summer show — especially with younger visitors. Summer show attendance topped 100,000, Reed said, “which was very good coming off the pandemic.”
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Opening Oct. 9 in the Oakland glasshouse, the fall “boo-tanical bash” will include:
• Troll mascots Fen and Ivy in new Halloween costumes.
• Flickering jack-o-lantern Leif looking over a sea of red and orange chrysanthemums with accents of dusty gray foliage.
• A 10-foot gnarled tree with cascading mums instead of autumn leaves in a display inspired by the crooked, windswept trees of Sweden’s Trollskogen (“troll forest”).
• Aegir the water troll’s island-like head ringed with a wreath of fall leaves and pine cones, as he sits in a pond filled with floating islands of deep red mums.
• A trio of costumed trick-or-trollers asking Bjorn the grumpy troll for treats. Visitors will have to dodge any flying pumpkins that Bjorn hurls their way.
• Fall-themed riddles to solve from Bridget the bridge troll. Visitors can inspect her new spooky cave, where she has stashed troll treats.
In keeping with the theme, visitors are invited to come dressed in their own Halloween garb.
All aboard
The fall flower show is always accompanied by the garden railroad exhibit. This year’s theme is “Bridges and Tunnels,” with the train chugging past miniature depictions of iconic western Pennsylvania scenes, live plants and touchless interactive stations.
“Pittsburghers will find a lot of scenes they recognize, like the Three Sisters bridges, the Liberty Tunnels and the Duquesne Incline,” Reed said. “There’s even a sinkhole bus, which is pretty cute.”
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Phipps has been creating chrysanthemum-themed fall shows since 1894, a year after the facility opened.
“As far as we know, it’s the longest-running chrysanthemum show in the country,” Reed said.
At three weeks, it’s also Phipps’s shortest show of the year.
“The thing about mums is that they don’t last that long,” Reed said, even though the growing process is almost a year-long task.
“It really is an art, almost like bonsai, with the timing and the training,” he said. “But if everything times out right — as it should — it will be a really beautiful show.”
“Happy Troll-O-Ween” runs through Oct. 31. Hours are 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, with extended hours until 8 p.m. Fridays. All tickets must be reserved in advance.
Masks are strongly recommended for all guests and required for unvaccinated guests ages 2 and older.
Details: 412-622-6914 or phipps.conservatory.org
