Magnificent Outdoor Gallery For Sculpture Exhibition

Steelroots Set In Unique Beauty Of Arboretum Conifer Collection

A visit to the Steelroots exhibition in the Arboretum's Conifer Collection is like taking an imaginary journey back to childhood - when summer vacation meant an exciting, fun-filled trip to the mountains with tall, impressive evergreens arching above. We filled our lungs with clean air scented by the incredible pine trees, and we welcomed their shade from the sun.

The monumental Steelroots sculptures will sit amid beautiful "outdoor galleries" - alcoves within the collection's 22 acres where more than 800 evergreen trees and other plants from 15 countries, such as Japan, Russia, Norway, Mongolia, and Turkey, dot the landscape.

Steelroots creator Steve Tobin selected the Conifer Collection to display his works of art.

"The landscape and sculptures will work in tandem to encourage visitors to see the wonders of nature as inspiration for my art," Tobin says.

On a serene spring day under a vast sky with a few puffy clouds above, the Conifer Collection is a magical place providing respite from our daily lives. The natural setting is so invigorating, it's hard to imagine that you're located so close to an urban area.

"The collection is very uplifting. You're immersed in a sea of green, with dashes of blue and white needles as well," says Kunso Kim, Arboretum Curator and Assistant Director of Collections. "You've not only got to see it, you've got to see, touch, and smell these trees," he says.

Roaming among the pines, junipers, firs, spruces, and cypresses of the collection, you begin to appreciate their diversity, recognizing there's much more to evergreens than the prototypical Christmas tree. Different conifers give off different scents. The trees' forms, textures, needle lengths and width, foliage density, the patterns of bark, and even the sizes and shapes of the cones are all unique.

The Conifer Walk - the main path through the collection - is a great way to explore Steelroots and see trees and nature "again for the first time," as Tobin puts it.