As soon as you walk into one of the greenhouse-type pyramids at the Muttart Conservatory – with its exhibits of lush greenery, delicate flowers and amazing fragrances – the wintery world outside seems to fade away. It doesn’t matter if it’s grey and -30 C outside, the glorious scents, trickling water features and ponds, and fragrant, heavy air instantly transport visitors from blah to beautiful.
It’s a notion backed by proponents of aromatherapy, floral and colour experts and those who plan the events and exhibits at the Muttart.
“It does wonders for the psyche to see green at this time of year, especially by the end of January, when people are done with the holidays and realize there’s still plenty of winter left,” said Alex Hamilton, event co-ordinator at the Muttart Conservatory in Edmonton’s River Valley area. “We call a visit here a staycation, and we encourage people to come, bring a book and spend the afternoon.”
There’s a word for the blending of senses – synaesthesia – which can manifest in many ways: as colours connecting to letters and numbers, smells and tastes to music, or touch to vision, and it affects only about five per cent of the population. But Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the highly-regarded Pantone Colour Institute, said colour and flower therapy can provide a long-term positive effect on mood for many, uniting the pleasant form, colour and smell of flowers and greenery to induce emotional health.
“Our response to colour is intensely emotional, and flowers can be a catalyst for feelings that stimulate more than just our sense of sight and smell. Colour can help us find the balance we seek from our surroundings. And flowers are an ideal way to harness the power of colour to enrich our lives,” she said.
Hamilton agrees, saying thought goes toward choosing the colour mix of exhibits, putting cheerful, bright yellows alongside delicate, blue-edged whites and shades of green. “We can sometimes intensify certain colours – it makes a dazzling exhibit,” he said.
Each January, the Muttart uses a dazzling new botanical display to welcome a new year. For the lunar new year – often called Chinese New Year, though also celebrated in Japan, Korea and other countries – 2015 is the Year of the Ram, and this year’s first feature pyramid display (on until March 1) is a tribute to a year of harmony. Amidst a colourful array of red lanterns, pink azaleas and white orchids, visitors do seem to find a serenity and sense of harmony with nature, evidenced by an exhibit space filled with families, people with cameras and others just sitting on a bench, taking in the atmosphere, even on a chilly Monday morning in January.
Hamilton said the lunar new year exhibit is his favourite and the Muttart’s biggest show of the year, a chance to come out in the dark days of January, smell the orchids and see the lemons grow – even to make a jade plant to take home. A local sculptor created metal rams as part of the exhibit, which includes cultural materials, an Oriental-style bridge, paper lanterns, a Buddha statue and more.
On Jan. 24, the Muttart celebrates the lunar new year with 6 p.m. fireworks, traditional Chinese dancing, hot chocolate, tours and extended hours. “It’s a wonderful way to spend a January day in Alberta,” said Hamilton.
