Photo courtesy of Aqua Forest Aquarium
Dive into the dazzling world of aquatic plants in a new exhibition of tropical underwater gardens at the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Visitors go 'below the surface' as they stroll past lush, living aquascapes, imaginatively crafted to highlight the diversity of freshwater tropical waterways.
Aquascaping, the art of creating stunning underwater landscapes with plants, stones and wood, is a popular international gardening trend. Annual competitions attract hundreds of elaborate entries from around the world. The beautifully planted aquariums can mimic everything from primeval forests to verdant valleys or can become sublime works of underwater abstract art.
Aquascapes: The Art of Underwater Gardening features a dozen tanks ranging from 4 to 6 feet long, set into the walls of a partially enclosed cavern-like setting that gives visitors the feeling of being down in a cenote. Nine of the tanks (three each) take their inspiration from Africa, Asia and South America, making use of native plants, rock, hardwood and fish to evoke the natural landscape of these tropical places. Three additional tanks are being created by local aquarium experts from San Francisco's Ocean Treasures and will highlight the more abstract artistic possibilities of aquascape design.
"Aquascaping is enormously popular around the world, particularly in crowded cities and colder countries where outdoor gardening isn't possible, but it isn't so familiar to American audiences," says Lau Hodges, Conservatory Curator. "I'm hoping we can change that with this exhibit because aquascaping offers urban audiences an exciting new possibility for apartment gardening — one that really allows the inner science geek and inner artist to express themselves. It's gardening for the maker culture, really."
![Nymphaea sp.](http://www.conservatoryofflowers.org/sites/default/files/Nymphea%20sp.jpg?1415735801)
Aquascaping, with its focus on aquatic plants and their artful arrangement, began in earnest in the 1930s in the Netherlands. Freshwater aquarium equipment became commercially available, and Dutch aquarists began to experiment with arranging various types of plants with diverse leaf color, size and texture in terraced heights, much like a terrestrial flower garden.
These wonderfully crowded underwater gardens left little room for decorative rock or driftwood. In the 1990's however, Japanese aquarist and photographer Takashi Amano introduced the world to his 'nature aquarium' style. Amano masterfully made use of the Zen aesthetic practice of rock and plant arrangement to create minimal, but stunning works of living art. Using just a few species of plants and carefully selected stones or driftwood, Amano's aquascapes evoked serene landscapes in miniature — mountain ranges, peaceful grass fields and quiet forests. Schools of fish, usually limited to just one or two species, appeared to fly like flocks of birds through these panoramic vistas. Amano's three-volume series, Nature Aquarium World, featuring breathtaking photographs of his aquascape designs, sparked a wave of interest in aquarium gardening.
Nyphema, common name: water lily. Tank 12
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