I think it's all the history.
I think it's all the history that's behind it.
A horticultural conservatory first stood on this site in 1899.
I feel like I have a lot of history on my shoulders to really keep up the legacy that this place has.
Emily Lambrecht's mission is to inspire people through plants in a revolving display of floral beauty.
I want everybody to be happy that they really see, you know, the beauty of the plants.
The three magnificent glass domes are a global gathering of nearly 2,000 plant species, representing all corners of planet Earth.
The other two domes are the desert dome and the tropical dome, and those are all permanent collections.
The growing season last year around in the expanse of greenhouses nestled behind the domes.
One, two, three, four, five, six.
Yeah, so I have seven kinds of poinsettias, give them another month and a half.
I'll be going in the show.
If the greenhouses are Emily's back office, the show dome is her front office, filled with holiday botanicals on parade and in full bloom.
I spend most of my day in there.
Let's say we're doing the holiday show, the poinsettias, they're a lot bigger, so that would be about 1,500 plants.
After each floral exhibit, the show dome undergoes a metamorphosis, where it is reimagined, resurfaced and replanted.
The stone changes five times a year.
We have two weeks, ten days, to completely transform the dome.
So the first thing that Monday we rip everything out, then putting in all the different props, all the heavy stuff, filling up the pond, and then just planting, planting, planting.
Throughout the year, the show dome represents the essence of every season.
Plus, there's train season.
This exhibit showcases one of the largest plantings of the year.
With nearly 2,400 plants meticulously installed around the inner circle.
These are stocks or methylas.
Backstage, the spring show called T and Tulips is on deck.
These are the merit supreme, so it's just a big ball of pink flowers.
This guy right next to it, this is in Ayesha, and we get these all from cuttings.
So then we up pat them and stick them outside to grow for the year.
So yeah, these all came in like that.
Just little guys.
Spring bulbs, like tulips and hyacinths, are hibernating here in a winter slumber, waiting for their grand entrance.
Once you take them out of the cooler and they see the sun and the warmth, I mean, they pop.
The vibrant floral tapestry of the spring show is one of Emily's favorites.
When it's just me and the dome, like first thing in the morning, I like to sit all by myself on top of the overlook wall.
Just kind of drink my tea, just collect my thoughts for the day.
I just want them to really see all the different array of colors and just really getting a sense of what nature has to offer in colors, textures.
Three times a week, the watering wand is out, and even more in the hotter months.
For Emily, the summer show Kinetic Garden is about to heat up.
I'm just constantly thinking about what plants to get, what plant goes where, just the design aspect of it.
We're going to go on this side.
Any visitor coming here, there are people behind the plants.
We're working really hard in all three domes in the greenhouses.
Emily starts mapping out her garden shows a year in advance.
So, these are all of our moms right here because it's going to be mythical menagerie.
I had to get this cholias, it's called Merlin's Magic.
I love that.
I love mine, it's lovely.
Oh, thank you.
It's a labor of love, that's what I like to say all the time.
Yeah, labor of love.
It takes a lot of labor to bring a single show to life.
A monumental effort that Emily and her crew double down on, planting each floral exhibit not once, but twice to ensure perfection.
Mums don't last forever, about the first week of October, so I have to replace all of the mums in the show.
So, there are 500 florist mums over there.
The seasons change and the flowers fade, but Emily's passion stays the same.
I feel like I've found my purpose.
It doesn't even feel like a job.
It's just designing, playing, pruning.
I'm making my one little part of the world beautiful.
Thank you.