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Community Corner

Head to Gardenland Express for for Trainloads of Holiday Fun

Saturday features an appearance by Santa along with carolers, a brass concert and even chestnuts roasted over an open fire.

Saturday features an appearance by Santa along with carolers, a brass concert and even chestnuts roasted over an open fire.

With model trains chugging through 5,000 square feet of blooming plants, Christmas trees, Nutcracker soldiers, wooden rocking horses and other old-fashioned toys, the Missouri Botanical Garden’s “Gardenland Express” holiday display is a throwback to an era people cherish and miss.

“We’re kind of becoming a traditional spot for a lot of people,” said Karen Hill, a public information officer with the garden. “The old department store windows downtown used to have trains and things like that in them. A lot of people have commented over the years that our display kind of reminds them of that and has sort of replaced that as their holiday tradition.”

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has been part of the garden’s holiday offerings since 2003. Preparation typically starts in August, when the model trains are inventoried.

“It’s built from the ground up each year,” Hill said. “It’s a completely new display each year. The floral display hall is really transformed. This year’s display is very bold and colorful and very whimsical. It definitely gets you in the mood for the holidays.”

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Plants are a prominent part of the festive look. More than 500 blooming poinsettias and other plants are included in the displays. One element that sets this year’s Gardenland Express apart from other years, Hill said, is the focus on trees. The display includes large and small trees, with information accompanying them.

“This year, the garden has been celebrating trees all year long,” Hill said. “The United Nations actually designated 2011 as the International Year of Forests. So that’s kind of where we got the idea for that.

The G-scale trains, with each individual car about a foot long, wind their way in and around the plants, trees and toys.

“It’s not the teeny tiny trains you might have at your home,” Hill said. “These are going to be bigger, garden-scale trains. They run throughout the day. They wander in and out of the display."

The Gardenland Express, which runs through Jan. 2, is packed with holiday events. Santa Claus, for instance, will be on hand to meet and greet 1-4 p.m. Saturday. There is no charge to take pictures with Santa, and this isn’t just any garden-variety Kriss Kringle either.

“We have the real Santa,” Hill said, laughing. “I’m not even kidding. I’ve been here for years, and we get calls and we get comments all the time that this is the place to go because we have such a good Santa.”

This is also the Saturday for caroling groups. The St. Margaret’s Youth Choir will perform at 1 p.m., followed by the Caroling Party—carolers in costume—at 2 p.m. and the Rosati-Kain Voices at 3 p.m. Adding to the holiday spirit, a vendor outside the main entrance will be selling chestnuts roasted over an open fire.

The St. Louis Low Brass Collective will offer a holiday play-along concert 11 a.m. to noon Saturday. The collective, headed by Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra members Gerry Pagano and Terry Myers, provides educational and performance opportunities for student and amateur low-brass—trombone, euphonium, baritone horn and tuba—musicians.

Admission to the garden is $4 for St. Louis city and county residents, $8 for all others, children 12 and younger are free. There is a separate $5 admission fee for Gardenland Express. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with early 4 p.m. closing Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Getting There

The Missouri Botanical Garden is located at 4344 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis, 63110. Take Highway 40east to exit 36A for Kingshighway Boulevard, turn right (south) on Kingshighway, then left on Manchester Road, right on Tower Grove Avenue and right on Shaw Boulevard.

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