Tuesday, March 22, 2011

San Francisco Conservatory Part II Garden Railway

Replica of the conservatory 

I have always loved trains and when my three sons were young we sought out train trips and even train themed vacations.  We had a large Lionel train table set up in one of my son's rooms and we spent hours building and landscaping our trainland countryside and towns.  I was delighted on our recent trip to San Francisco to find the conservatory had a miniature garden train railway on display as it  brought back happy memories spent with my boys!


The conservatory devoted and entire room to this beautiful display.   It was so fun to watch and as a gardener I appreciated the little details and plants they selected for their railway landscape. 



They included all the famous landmarks of San Francisco...the trolley cars,  Japanese gardens...


 the Coit Tower and the
TransAmerica building.




Many of the miniature models were made from recycled materials...I love the timer they used for the clock tower


and the cereal boxes for the  famous Victorian row houses.


The golden gate bridge was made from recycled plastic vegatable baskets ...  


the  windmill from old rulers!



They also had a Thomas the Train railway for the little ones to enjoy.


Of course now I want to get up in the attic and get all our trains out and make a garden railway of my own...and trust me if I had a space to display them  I'd be up there right now!     

      
 We had a great time!  

I'm linking with Tootsie's Fertilzer Fridays
 and Laurie's Favorite Things Saturday
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10 comments:

  1. SarahMarch 22, 2011 at 11:49 AM

    Sonia, what a fun exhibit. As a child, we had a Lionel train set too. We would spend hours playing with that set and building little vignettes around the track. I think many of us love the romance of a train. Thanks for sharing this. ~ Sarah

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  2. The Painted GardenMarch 22, 2011 at 11:53 AM

    Hi Sonia,

    Oh goodness -what a fun and beautiful post. I love your photogrpahs and the train - just adorable.
    Have a wonderful day.
    Blessings,
    Erin

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  3. debMarch 24, 2011 at 7:55 PM

    Amazing! Thoroughly enjoyed seeing this!
    *hugs*deb

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  4. xinexMarch 25, 2011 at 7:44 AM

    What an amazing display, Sonia. How lucky of you to see it first hand. Everything just looks beautiful and they did such a great job replicating the building and structures...Christine

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  5. KarenMarch 25, 2011 at 8:59 AM

    Sonia, how nice to meet you and what a wonderful train display! My husband loves trains too, and has a huge set of them. There are many gardens in our area who have outdoor trains, too, and we always go to their garden walks. I love all the detail in the buildings and bridges, etc..what a lot of work, and so realistic looking.

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  6. p3chandanMarch 25, 2011 at 9:27 AM

    I love the miniature gardens, buildings and trains! Thanks for sharing your fun trip!

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  7. Betty March 25, 2011 at 9:27 AM

    I love trains and this would be something our family would love to see. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. A Few PenniesMarch 25, 2011 at 9:08 PM

    Beautiful posting--dreamy land and pretty flowers. Have a great weekend! Patty

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  9. Bargain Decorating with LaurieMarch 27, 2011 at 9:36 PM

    Oh I love this Sonia! I also love trains, and have even had to talk myself out of buying one of those outdoor sets for my garden. What fun to see all of the ways they recycled things to make this wonderful city. You've got me wanting to look into the price of a garden train set again! Thank you for linking this magical post to Favorite Things. laurie

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  10. DiannMarch 29, 2011 at 8:23 AM

    Oh, what a wonderful place to visit! it looks so amazing. How fun! thank you for sharing it with all of us!

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