Saturday, January 22, 2011

Worlds largest floating garden at night, Allure of the Seas




The Allure of the Seas Central Park garden takes on a different feel in the evening. Lights can be attached to the base of the tree, with the light facing up to illuminate the trunk. Lights can also be mounted on the tops of the trunk, facing down to illuminate the trunk. Spotlights can be nestled at the base of the tree among the groundcovers to illuminate the tree canopy.
Foundation lights illuminate the walkways, as well as show of the low growing plants. The Central Park garden on Allure of the Seas gets foot traffic day and night due to the safe environment. Most cruise passengers would not dare enter their city garden at night back home..
The skyway pedestrian bridge across the garden is illuminated in a spectacular illusion of clouds in the sky.Foundation lights illuminate the walkways, as well as show of the low growing plants. Pedestrian walkways can also be lit with street poles as well.
This garden was designed to be a cityscape garden. However the plants are marked with identification like a botanical garden. Plant lovers will appreciate that.
I loved the living wall gardens on either side of the atrium, the great design details in the hardscape, as well as the art in the garden. I would have liked to have seen more Florida natives utilized and less generic interiorscape plants.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Largest Floating Garden at Sea: Allure of the Seas



As you walk into the mature garden, it’s hard to believe it was just put in. It took seventy people seventy two hours to install the garden, according to Eva Matos of Ambius, the interiorscape firm that is contracted to work with the crew to keep the landscape maintained for the first month. According to Laszlo, the head manager of the garden, two nurseries supplied the plants for the entire garden, Michael’s Nursery and Southeast Growers, both well established south Florida wholesale nurseries.
There are twelve thousand plants in the garden, including fifty seven trees. There are seventy five species of plants. All of the plants were pre planted in two thousand modular planters at Michaels before being loaded onto the ship. Calibri (Body)Calibri (Body)