Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

5-Minute Expert:

How a display blossoms

Bellagio_panorama_holiday_display

L.E. Baskow

The Christmas tree in the Bellagio’s holiday display is a 42-foot silver fir that was trucked in on a flatbed trailer from California. It weighs 6,800 pounds and is decorated with 7,000 lights and 2,500 ornaments.

2014 Bellagio Holiday Display

The 2014 holiday display on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014, at Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens. Launch slideshow »

In a town where fall colors and spring blossoms are scarce, the Bellagio Conservatory is a man-made reminder that seasons do change.

Replicating Mother Nature is no easy task. Swapping out the display takes dozens of people working around the clock for days on end, and maintaining it involves diligent watering and constant refreshing. Then there’s designing and building the exhibits, which happens year-round behind the scenes.

The result is an attraction that draws hundreds of thousands of locals and visitors. But who creates the displays? How are the props moved in and out? And how much vegetation is needed? In other words, how does it work?

PLANNING

1. The Bellagio’s executive director of horticulture and conservatory manager works with an MGM Events executive to come up with a theme for the display.

2. The concept is presented to conservatory staff, who brainstorm props, plant arrangements and features.

All displays must have two new props, and the holiday exhibit must be designed with a middle walkway to accommodate large crowds.

3. A contract artist sketches the design. A black-and-white rough-out is presented to Bellagio executives for approval. Once approved, the artist creates color drawings of the design.

4. Construction work for props are bid to local contractors. Conservatory managers also work with seamstresses and other specialists.

EXECUTION

5. Old displays and new displays are swapped simultaneously. Staff create two staging areas: one in the parking garage outside the lobby, the other on an access road between the Bellagio parking garage and the Cosmopolitan.

6. The bulk of the display is placed in four main planters. Each is 3 feet deep and extends below the floor into “the catacombs,” a series of service passageways that contain electrical line, ventilation equipment and ductwork. Iron tables are used to set the height of the display and to hold potted flowers. The tubs are filled with recycled rubber, used instead of dirt to reduce mold and repel insects.

7. Irrigation lines and electrical wire are routed within the planters through holes in the iron tables. Any portion that shows is covered with flowers or other materials.

8. Metal frames for props are built by hand using rods thin enough to bend. The rods are fastened together, and irrigation lines are placed at the top of the framework to allow water to seep down and keep moisture from saturating the bottom.

9. The prop frames are loaded with floral foam to hold flowers in place and absorb water, which prolongs the flowers’ freshness.

10. Staff members place flowers in the foam one at a time by hand.

HOW THE PLANTS ARE WATERED

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Live animals are rarely used in the exhibit, although koi live in the conservatory ponds. MGM employees own and care for the fish. One of the rare animal exhibits included birds, and at least one laid eggs that hatched.

The conservatory uses water from the same system that supplies the Bellagio with drinking water.

• Water is piped through an irrigation system with 3,000 feet of soaker line that snakes through the catacombs. Tubs and flowerpots all contain holes to allow water to drain into the catacombs, where it’s recycled into the irrigation system.

• Potted flowers are hand-watered.

• Trees, plants and flowers on props are watered through the irrigation system.

• Unlike the conservatory, the Bellagio fountains use water from a well that fed the Dunes golf course.



Click to enlarge photo

Polar bears sit on shelves in the storage area for the Bellagio's Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE DISPLAY IS TAKEN DOWN?

MGM Resorts International owns the majority of the props used in the display.

• Items are stored in a 30,000-square-foot warehouse on Industrial Road near the Mirage.

• Most props are used a maximum of three times. Each gets refinished and redecorated before reuse.

• Some retired props are sent to other MGM properties, such as MGM Macau.

As for the plants:

• Trees are hauled away and mulched.

• Some potted flowers are offered to employees.

• Some foliage is donated to charitable organizations.

• Most is sent to a third-party company to be turned into mulch.

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