Gardenland Express Chugs Into the Missouri Botanical Garden for Trainloads of Holiday Fun

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.”

 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.”

Plants are a prominent part of the festive look.

“We have over 500 blooming poinsettias and other plants,” she said. “Our horticulturists definitely see what’s on the market and always try to get some new cultivars—different varieties of poinsettias—in there. We have a hot pink cultivar, so it’s not just going to be a ton of red poinsettias. We have a lot of different varieties, color and such. So people like to see that in our show. And we have other pretty blooming plants as well—begonias and cyclamen and other things to see.”

One element that sets this year’s Gardenland Express apart from other years, Hill said, is the focus on trees.

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

The display includes large and small trees, with information accompanying them.

“You’ll see lots of gift tags—different signs that we have on the trees—saying ‘Here’s a special gift that this tree gives to people.’ Whether it’s shelter or oxygen or shade,” she said. “Or maybe it can be used for a musical instrument, or it’s a common building material. So we like to insert some fun ways for people to get some learning, to get some factoids, in there as well. It’s very cute how they did it this year. I was impressed by our interpretation team. I thought it was very clever with the gift tags.”

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. One fun thing I like to point out to people, because it’s a common question we get—every now and then they’ll see a train that’s stopped, and someone will come up to me and say, ‘There’s something wrong—one of your trains has stopped.’ We run these trains from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, so they are programmed to stop and take breaks so they don’t overheat.”

The display also includes several large gifting trees.

“You’ll see these very large towers of stacked, wrapped presents, in really bold color wrapping paper,” Hill said.

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.

“Bring your own hand-held camera, and you’re welcome to take a photo with Santa,” she said.

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.

A large display of holiday wreaths festoon the area, and people can bid through silent auction to take one of the wreaths home at the end of the season. Another popular attraction is a large holiday tree in the Kemper Center decorated with “gourdaments”—ornaments made from gourds—and other natural materials.

Victorian Christmas at Tower Grove House, the former home of garden founder Henry Shaw, is a perennial crowd favorite.

“They decorate it with Victorian holiday décor,” Hill said. “It’s very pretty.”

The Tower Grove House is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

A“Chanukah: Festival of Lights observance will be held noon-4 p.m. Sunday. It will include a menorah lighting ceremony, music, dance and vendors. Kwanzaa: Festival of the First Fruits will be observed noon-4 p.m. Dec. 28. It will include storytelling, authentic African drumming and musical performances and craft and jewelry displays.

Whatever the attraction, people are headed in throngs to the Garden.

“Attendance has been great,” Hill said. “It’s always the week between Christmas and New Year’s that is the most bustling for the show.”

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.