A World Class Treasure: Grand Rapids’ Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

Alexander Liberman, Aria, 1979-1983, Painted Steel. Photo Copyright J. Voigts

   
I began writing columns for Wandering Educators as the Michigan Editor but recently expanded my sites globally. Upcoming columns will include features from Ohio and California and even Australia and New Zealand.  It seems appropriate in this transitional phase to suggest a Michigan treasure of global proportions. Raised in Michigan, I thought I knew every worthwhile place to visit in our beautiful state.

Nina Akamu, The American Horse (Leonardo da Vinci's Horse), 1998, Bronze. Photo Copyright J. Voigts

     
Imagine my surprise as I recently flew from San Francisco to Detroit and picked up the Delta Sky Magazine’s May 2009 article proclaiming the top 30 “Must-See” museums in the world and found one of them in my home state.  Michigan has many fine museums – but world class?  Something to compete with the Field Museum in Chicago, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam or the Uffizi Gallery in Florence? Yet right up there with the big fellas was the Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.

The Inside Gardens are a Welcome Winter Respite

I asked myself how I possibly could have missed this jewel.  In my prior life as an attorney I traveled to Grand Rapids two or three times a week and it seemed unfathomable that I overlooked something so extraordinary right under my nose. The reason became apparent when I learned Meijer Gardens only began welcoming visitors on April 20, 1995, which was after my work in Grand Rapids concluded. A short fifteen years after opening their doors these dazzling Gardens are garnering the same acclaim accorded the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Cairo Egyptian Museum of Antiquities and the London British Museum. That is a feat nothing short of amazing.

Copyright J. Voigts

Igor Mitoraj, Light of the Moon, 1991-1992, Bronze. Photo Copyright J. Voigts

     
I immediately set out to make up for lost time and I am thrilled that I did.  Since my visit, I have been astounded at how many other Michiganders admit they have never visited our very own world class attraction. I urge you, wherever you are and whatever other plans you have for the upcoming holidays, come and enjoy the fragrance, the vibrancy and the art of these gardens.

Author striking a "Thinker Pose"

   
The Sky Magazine referred to the Gardens as a museum but they are not what most of us have in mind when we think museums.  This is not a place to view musty artifacts and brush up on period history.  Instead it is part outdoor gallery with amazing sculpture and part lush botanic gardens – both indoors and out. I suggest you begin your experience with the narrated tram ride to get a proper perspective and the lay of the land.
   
One of my first questions was how this remarkable park came into existence. The story was as simple as it was grand. Frederik Meijer, the man who gave us groceries and department store merchandise under one roof and who coined the phrase one stop shopping, began his career at fourteen as a grocery bagger in the Greenville, Michigan grocery store of his father, Dutch immigrant Hendrik Meijer.  With the store’s success and expansion, Frederik became chairman of a company that would eventually be a conglomerate of 181 stores.
     
Along the way Frederik and his wife, Lena, became noted philanthropists. In 1990 the West Michigan Horticultural Society tested Frederik Meijer’s generosity. They asked him to donate a piece of land owned by his corporation for a botanic garden and conservatory. Frederik and Lena liked the idea but their magnanimity came with an extraordinary string attached.  Frederik was a lover of the arts, especially sculpture, and he owned a stunning collection but no place to display it properly.  He would provide the land on the condition the gardens became home to his collection. The result of the agreement was the Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park and they are undoubtedly the most significant of all the contributions of Frederik, Lena and the Meijer family.

Copyright J. Voigts

   
132 acres of woodlands, wetlands and gardens fashion a feast for your eyes from colorful and aromatic plants, trees and flowers and the largest collection of outdoor sculpture in the Midwest. Meander the Farm Garden to be reminded of the simpler life of the 1930s. The farmhouse is a 3/4 scale replica of the family homestead from Lena Meijer’s childhood. It nestles amidst a barn, windmill, sugar shack, heirloom vegetable garden, flower beds and animal sculptures.

Beautiful Gardens Everywhere You Look

   
Walking the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden alone would make the trip to the Gardens worthwhile – even for adults. What a spectacular place to take children or grandchildren. It was sheer joy watching small fry wade in shallow water clutching tight to play boats in one of the garden’s five areas created to stimulate curiosity in blossoming minds. Discovery carts provide tools to learning: magiscopes, musical instruments, art tools and even puppets are seasonally available. A second group of delighted, squealing children ran ahead of their parents over bridges and through a beaver lodge making their laughter the background music of this family-friendly garden where unique sculpture gratifies youthful fancy. Classes and organized programs encourage little ones to have a ball while expanding their knowledge of plants, animals, insects, birds and trees. Where else can youngsters dig for fossils in a rock quarry meant just for them?

Great Lakes Water Garden. Photo Copyright J. Voigts

Copyright J. Voigts

   
An Amphitheatre Garden boasts major league talent for summer concerts that run from June through September (last year included Kenny Rogers, Jeff Daniels, Lyle Lovett, Bonnie Raitt, and the Indigo Girls). Listen to music while reveling in the perfectly manicured lawns overlooking the stage. 

Photo copyright William J. Hebert

   
Visitors experience the visual bliss of more than 180 permanent sculpture masterworks by such renowned sculptors as Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore, Andy Goldsworthy and Mark di Suvero in natural settings that perfectly showcase their magnificence. The Gardens were laid out by extremely talented landscape designers and are partially maintained by loyal and loving volunteers. You are free to roam the nature trails and boardwalks or just sit on a gentle knoll alongside a marshy area and watch a heron take flight. You can’t blame wild critters for loving this place as much as their human counterparts.

Photo copyright William J. Hebert

   
Inside, a 120,000 square foot facility contains a Tropical Conservatory flaunting exotic plants from five continents. Follow bridges under waterfalls and paths winding around 300 species of plants including bromeliads, Egyptian papyrus and allspice. Palm and banana trees tower more than forty feet high. Can there be a more welcome retreat in the middle of a Michigan winter than surrounding yourself with equatorial foliage? If you are lucky you may sight a quail amid ambrosial orchids.

Photo copyright William J. Hebert

   
The Seasonal Display Garden is a kaleidoscopic profusion of seasonal blooms, while the Carnivorous Plant House – one of the few in the country - fascinates young visitors hoping to feed a younger sibling to the vegetation.  Desert plants from the Americas and Africa fill the Arid Garden. In season there is even a magical Butterflies are Blooming exhibit to help you beat the winter blahs.  Surrounded by more than 6,000 butterflies flying free - 40 different species imported from the Far East and Central America – a smile is guaranteed to grace your face as thoughts of spring’s rebirth replace harsher images of ice and snow. Winter may be the perfect time to schedule your visit. But, be forewarned: a midwinter trip is guaranteed to whet your appetite and force you to return during the summer or fall.

Photo copyright William J. Hebert

   
Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around the World runs from November 18, 2009 to January 10, 2010 with the lighting ceremony scheduled for November 17.  If you can’t beat Old Man Winter, then enjoy his spectacular beauty at this most magical time of the year. Watch Meijer Gardens transform into a world of pure enchantment basking in the glow of 300,000 lights. The Gardens pull out all the stops with 40 captivating international trees and displays, strolling carolers, sing-along trolley rides, horse drawn carriage rides, live reindeer in the English Perennial Garden (for pictures, petting and fun), Christmas art projects, Santa visits, and more surprises than you can fit under the tree.  (For carriage reservations call 616-975-3151 and for times and dates of various activities check the website below).  The Gardens Holiday Express Train Exhibit has become a holiday favorite. It was designed by railway garden designer Paul Busse and winds its way through three indoor gardens.

Photo copyright William J. Hebert

Photo copyright William J. Hebert

   
Don’t leave without getting a jump start on your Christmas shopping with a stop at the superb gift shop where you will find something for everyone on your list. Browse decorative and functional items to enhance your outdoor living space, Kitras Art Glass, clay garden bells, chimes, collectibles for children, cards, collapsible shopping baskets and even a few extraordinary Chihuly pieces. 

Trains at the Holiday Exhibit

   
There is no letdown when the holidays end. 2010 promises exciting events and special exhibitions including: Lynn Chadwick (the first United States exhibition of this talented British Sculptor since his death in 2003), Henry Moore (master draftsman and printmaker and one of the most important sculptors of the 20th Century), Michele Oka Doner (a versatile artist appreciated for her sculpture, installations and public art projects, prints, jewelry and functional objects), and Dale Chihuly (famed glass sculptor).

Chihuly Ceiling in the Café

   
Get a sneak peak of artist Chihuly’s work in the two permanent installations on display: The Gilded Champagne Gardens Chandelier in the Atrium and the newly installed Lena’s Garden suspended from the ceiling of the Taste of the Gardens Café. The latter adds artistic splendor to your dining pleasure. The special Chihuly exhibit runs from April 30 to September 30, 2010 and offers a large-scale outdoor exhibition with fourteen memorable glass sculptures integrated into several garden areas.
   
To celebrate the Gardens’ 15th Anniversary there will also be a special Sculptors Celebrate the Legacy of Fred and Lena Meijer exhibit.

Copyright J. Voigts

Carolyn Ottmers, Full Circle, 1999, Industrial Porcelain. Photo Copyright J. Voigts

   
The Meijer Gardens are located at 1000 East Beltline Ave NE, Grand Rapids, MI. They are open 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Saturday (extended hours to 9:00 pm on Tuesday) and Sunday from noon until 5:00 pm. The Gardens will also extend their hours to 9:00 pm on December 26, 28, 29, and 30.  To plan an event, sign up for a class or get additional details about the upcoming exhibits and events, head to their website.   

I promise you will thank me for suggesting the Meijer Gardens.  

For more information, please see:

http://www.meijergardens.org/

Deborah Butterfield, Cabin Creek, 1999, Bronze. Photo copyright J. Voigts

Julie Albrecht Royce, Travel Adventures Editor, is the author of Traveling Michigan's Sunset Coast and Traveling Michigan's Thumb, both published by Thunder Bay Press. She writes a monthly column for Wandering Educators.

Photos courtesy and copyright Julie Royce, except where noted.