Bruce Munro: Light In the Garden

I inadvertently went on a kind of date with one of my female friends here. How, you ask? Well, I had an extra ticket to this show and it was about to be done, so I invited a friend to share the experience with. Unbeknownst to us, it was exceptionally romantic. Like, we were giggling madly about how we seemed out of place because of all the couples.
But despite that, it was a very lovely experience. The lights were beautiful, and I managed to get some really awesome shots of several exhibits. My favorites were the forest of lights and the exhibit overlooking the Atlanta skyline that surrounded a pool of water. It was near a really neat indoor greenhouse, where the interior came alive with the real sounds of frogs and other insects loving and dying. The frogs were adorable! We saw someone shining a soft light on some, and they were itty bitty and so full-​throated. I felt like I was in a little slice of Jurassic Park with the humidity, sounds, and large fronds. The forest of lights felt like being somewhere magical. They were beautiful and enrapturing, and I found myself staring off into space several times, almost hypnotized.
PROS:
–Beautiful installments, which were spread out all over the garden. This made it a kind of fun, «Oh I’m lost! Let’s retrace our steps!» experience.
–I got a great deal on two tickets with Groupon.
–A lot of the garden was handicap accessible.
CONS:
–The garden was very shadowed. This made it difficult to navigate around it, as there were many spots of almost total darkness, where you had to slowly move towards the light like a moth. And naturally, we were walking in circles because nothing was clearly marked.
–This was such a date spot that coming here with a friend was a little awkward.
–I misplaced my keys are we were looking for someone around the garden and it took us SO LONG to find anyone. It was like they had all scurried out of the light and were hiding away. There wasn’t even anyone at the entrance/​exit, nor was there security anywhere to be found.
–The website said there was free parking, but there was not. They were charging $ 10 per car, even when we only came 2 hours from close.
THE VERDICT:
I wish we had come during the day so we could have seen the installments at that time, like so many other people suggested. The forest of lights made me feel like I was transported to Hogwarts, and roaming through the grounds during Valentine’s Day. Had some serious suspension of disbelief going on, I know. I have an imaginative head, so it was a fun experience to go out and feel like I was in all these different places due to scenery, temperature, and light changes. I would suggest parking down the street, as otherwise you’ll likely have to pay $ 10 for parking. We parked at a place where there were a bunch of gay bars.

The Bruce Munro Garden Lights is a really great exhibit for the Botanical Gardens. What I didn’t know was that the exhibit was throughout the gardens, not just the canopy area.
A few tips —
Get there around dinner and you’ll have time to walk the gardens before dark and then after dark with the lights. Then you can see all the normal exhibits, but also this special exhibit.
If you live in the area, a membership with the botanical gardens makes way more sense than paying each time for these events. As a member, you get discounted rates on their special exhibits.

I had very high expectations but ended being very underwhelmed. I was glad that we walked around during the daytime because I actually enjoyed that more than the light show itself. The only thing that captured my attention was the garden of full of lights. All of the other destinations did not wow me at all. It was very dark and difficult to navigate from the different destinations. I suggest going here if you have never been to Atlanta botanical gardens so you can kill two birds with one stone.

Underwhelmed. We arrived at 6:30, and had time to thoroughly enjoy the garden and greenhouses while it was still light. We wrongly assumed the light show would be begin at dusk; but it was 8:30 before all light exhibits were fully illuminated. I was certainly glad we’d enjoyed the gardens during daylight, because the light exhibits were just OK. After you’d seen the first 5000 sticks of light, it was just too much of the same. And it was so dark, it was easy to get lost and go in circles; no exit signs until you got almost close enough to see the exit yourself.

The exhibit was lovely. However, be aware of the Petit Café. My first visit to the Gardens was tarnished on 9÷3÷15 by my experience at the Petit Café. After selecting a grilled cheese sandwich from the white board that did not include prices, I also ordered a glass [cup] of wine. I requested a glass of water. The male of the threesome advised me that only bottled water was available. I didn’t want a 16 oz. Dasani bottle, just a glass. He said the «cups» could not be given away. I walked away. After my meal I returned with my empty cup and asked for water. The young lady who appeared to be the novice turned to the 2^nd woman who very slightly shook her head no. The young lady returned my cup. The male appeared. I reminded him of our conversation. He denied telling me that the cups were not for sale, again refusing me a glass of water. I stated that I expected a request for a glass of water after paying $ 16 for for a grilled cheese sandwich and a cup of wine. He refused. Unbelievable. exhibit was lovely.

I had been looking forward to going to the Bruce Munro Lights at the ABG for sometime. Last night was our first opportunity and it proved to be quite the learning experience. Our map suggested that we should start at Point #1. Difficult to find as the walks are totally dark and unmarked. We finally found the #1: it is a collection of plastic bottles staked as towers with light strands inside, synchronized to some strange buffered music. Stumbled through the Orchid House and Greenhouse – very dark with the same plastic bottle collections – we began to think maybe this had to do with recycling until we stopped for a snack. At $ 6 a pop, one would expect something more than an 2 oz of congealed pimento cheese that you had to eat with your fingers as the chips were so soggy they fell apart. Celery was not available. Looking for a trash can, we found all were over-​flowing (this was about 8:15 PM). The plastic containers were all mixed with the paper and non-​recyclables: so we couldn’t be good if we wanted. We then headed for the Storza Woods and new canopy walks. The light show was fantastic. I learned through our 2 ½ hour visit that people are rude and inconsiderate. I actually saw a woman in a cowboy hat touch an oil painting in the Orchid House and ask if it was real. Two people were complaining later about how far they had to walk. The food and drink stands are over-​priced. Member discounts amount to $ 4/​per person. As it was the weekend, the place was over-​run with people walking through flower beds‘, kids running free, and poor lighting. I will never go back on a weekend and I will always go to the Member Preview Nights in the future having eaten somewhere else. I have SAGE pass for the parking lot which is nice, except the elevator was not operating. It is always our custom to park on Level 1 – not a good choice last night. Again, we shelled out over $ 80 for 2 people at Member prices. I feel sorry for those non-​members who paid much more.

A magical evening — entertaining, delightful and serene. We had dinner at the café, then walked the grounds. Love that there’s a bar on every corner, a seat anywhere you want to sit. This ABG encourages you to sit and linger. Staff is so danged courteous — we stayed past closing and not ONE person chased us off. We actually had to ask when the place closed because we didn’t know. Turns out, we’d overstayed our welcome by 15 minutes.
If you haven’t been to the ABG lately, you’re really missing out. 10 years ago this place was just okay. Today, it’s actually an event.
Bravo, ABG! We’ll be going again… and taking friends.

This is a wonderful event! We arrived around 7 – 7:30p and walked the whole garden in the light. Everything is beautiful here, obviously, and it’s very relaxing. By the time we went through the orchid house it was an hour or so later and getting dark. So, by the time we walked back to the start, it was dark enough to start getting the full effect.
Stuck around until 9−10p to really see things full illuminated. There are plenty of drink stations for water or an adult cocktail.
Bring comfy walking shoes!

At night, the view from the bridge is breathtaking. I enjoyed my time being there, but I feel like there should more light added in certain areas. I expect more, but I enjoyed what I was able to see.

This was a totally gorgeous and surreal experience. I think you’ll need a couple hours to really see and enjoy it all (plus they sell wine here, so even more of a reason to stick around). I would start by taking the fork in the road to the LEFT, and checking out the water towers, the indoor lights and bottle installation over the fountain. (Those aren’t the official names, but I don’t know how else to refer to them!) The water towers have a beautiful view of downtown Atlanta behind them, plus the lily pads and frogs really set the mood. Indoors, it’s fun to wander through what feels like a jungle and hear animal sounds amidst glowing lights. The bottles are just super pretty. Then, once you’ve seen this area, head back down to the fork to the RIGHT, and spend time wandering over the bridge and through the gardens. You’ll feel like you’ve fallen into the movie Avatar, and it’s super peaceful to just watch the lights serenely flicker and change color. This would be an amazing spot to take a date, so get your romance on!

So this is one of those times that I must say my mind was blown. This evening started out as a low key date on a Weds night and turned into one of the best low key Atlanta evenings in a long time, and we even said I will totally tell people to come and see this! It’s hard to describe what the exhibit is, but basically it’s mixed media, using lighting, and fiber optic, cable. Also we learned that it’s not some traveling art work it was designed for the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, so that made it more special! Guys they serve beer and wine and really it’s an awesome date option. A little culture, strolling through the garden with your gal by your side, sip some wine and enjoy a beautiful evening minutes from midtown Atlanta!
Few thing to note, dusk was definitely he best time to see it, as light changed into dark but you could still somewhat see the gardens the whole thing comes together so well. Second, you can leave your tickets on your phone they can scan them from there. Lastly, go slow, meander and take your time, if you rush or just stay on the main path so to speak, you will definitely miss some of the changes the exhibit undergoes throughout the night.
Go see it! Absolutely worth the time and surprised another Unilocaler and I so much we created the page of it!

Quite simply, GO!
I enjoyed the Atlanta Botanical Gardens’ newest exhibit, Light in the Garden, so much more than the Christmas light display at the Gardens and found it even more impressive. Somehow the hype around this newest exhibit has been low, and as a result, it wasn’t crowded at all on a Wednesday night when we arrived right at dusk. In fact, you could have walked right up and purchased tickets without even waiting in line. However, online/​advance purchase tickets are available.
While $ 20+/person is not exactly cheap for a stroll through a park, the lights are truly works of art, and it is is easily possible to spend several hours being mesmerized by the displays. There are tons of benches, chairs, and swings overlooking the lights or the impressive midtown skyline view, and there are several cash bars pouring wine and beer. They give you plenty of encouragement and opportunity to hang for a while.
In fact, you’d be missing out if you didn’t take your time to be still and ponder some of the larger installations, as they have intricacies, moving parts, and blinking orbs that you would miss if you didn’t drop your pace below a slow stroll. My favorite installation of the six was definitely the «Forest of Light» which is located under the canopy walk and has more than 30,000 flower-​like stems of light covering the forest floor. It’s absolutely breathtaking.
This special exhibition has me seriously contemplating a Garden membership. Don’t miss this display!