Royal Botanical Gardens Welcomes Visitors Into the Land of Oz

By: Emily R. Zarevich, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Burlington Local-News.ca

 

Toto, we’re not in Burlington anymore.

 

Or maybe we are. Maybe we’re in Bloomland in Oz, and the staff and volunteers at the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) are magicians with flora, transforming the display rooms into a fully immersive, cinematic experience that whisks visitors away to a dreamland. On Saturday, January 31, 2026, the RBG welcomed the people of Burlington to Kansas, to Emerald City, to the haunted forest, and to every setting that serves as the backdrop to L. Frank Baum’s classic children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Published in 1900, the tale has captivated audiences for more than a century.

 

We all read the book as children. We’ve all watched the 1939 musical fantasy The Wizard of Oz, starring the legendary Judy Garland. And we’re all still reeling from the blockbuster success of the two-part film adaptation of Wicked, which got us crowding the movie theatres in the years 2024 and 2025. The RBG’s timing and theme of choice couldn’t be more impeccable. Visitors can expect to follow Dorothy, Toto the dog, and their loyal band of fantastical friends — the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow — on their journey down the yellow brick road to Emerald City to meet the Wizard of Oz, the only being who holds the power to grant them all their wishes.

 

As the heroes adventure through the marvellous land of Oz, their adversary, the Wicked Witch of the West, throws as many obstacles in their way as she can, determined to separate Dorothy from the enchanted silver shoes that belonged to her slain sister, the Wicked Witch of the East. Entire narrative stages from the original book are imaginatively rendered in orchids, bromeliads, cacti, hydrangeas, anthurium, and assorted tropicals and succulents. Outstandingly creative arrangements make for a dizzying tornado, decorative archways, hot air balloons dotting the ceiling, and, of course, the book’s colourful cast of characters themselves. Dorothy, however, is played by a live actor, carrying her basket and ready to pose for Instagram photos. The RBG’s take on Baum’s creation is inventive and unique.

 

“Brookelyn Archer and I developed our own interpretation of some parts of the story that we read within the book, so there are some parts and displays that will make people want to say, ‘I don’t quite remember that,’” says Kathleen Hutcheson, the RBG centre’s indoor horticulturalist and one of Bloomland in Oz’s masterminds. “I think it just adds interest to the show.”

 

“It adds a level of depth,” adds RBG’s event planner Brookelyn Archer, who was Hutcheson’s collaborator on the showcase. “We all interpret everything differently. I think the show captures that. We took a scene and thought, ‘What did Kathleen read? What resonated with her for that scene? What resonated with me? What resonated with our other colleagues who were on the team? How do we combine all of that into a cohesive art installation and piece, using the materials we had and making it the RBG’s own signature design of that scene?’”

 

Archer and Hutcheson’s vision is beautifully executed. The Wizard is a giant mask of moss with ever-watching eyes, daring visitors to step forward with their requests. The Good Witch of the North, the beautiful Glinda, dazzles in her trademark pretty pinks. The Wicked Witch of the West is decked out in contrary dark and ominous purples and carries a palm leaf umbrella that protects her from the rain droplets that could melt her — but visitors might notice something missing.

 

“The Wicked Witch has no broom,” explains Archer. “She carries an umbrella. That goes with her fear of water. So we’ve definitely really enhanced those components to make people wonder, why this? We’ve really gone into the book and asked, where are we pulling these elements?”

 

Visitors may also wonder why the Wicked Witch of the West is not green-skinned either. Well, in the book, she wasn’t. The green skin was given to the character in the 1939 film adaptation and modern prequel adaptations to present her as uniquely repulsive.

 

“We don’t make a reference to the name ‘Elphaba,’” Archer points out for visitors who might be wondering if Wicked had any influence on her and Hutcheson’s conception. “She is just the Wicked Witch of the West, how she is described throughout the book.”

 

Paradiso (2022) by Willy Verginer, rendered in lindenwood, acrylic, and aluminum leafing. A unique take on the iconic character of the Tin Man.

 

Accompanying the main flower art installation is a secondary exhibition of contemporary 3D woodworks by a showcase of artists that include Willy Verginer, Breanna Shanahan, Marc Sparfel, and Ericka Walker. Titled Of Wonders, Wild and New, it is an assemblage of original works that depict an alternative, nontraditional version of the pivotal chapter in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz where Dorothy and company travel through the forest and encounter the Fighting Trees. Though in the book, the Tin Man heroically axes the evil trees down and saves everyone, the exhibition itself serves as a commentary on sustainable forestation, respecting nature and its beauty, and viewing wood as a viable, constructive resource, not something to destroy.

 

Perhaps the Fighting Trees aren’t truly evil after all. Maybe they are just protecting their corner and their place in the ecosystem. Just like in Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked, RBG’s Of Wonders, Wild and New asks us to reconsider the points of view and stances of the villainous characters in Baum’s original text.

 

The wonderful world of Oz will continue to be accessible via the RBG’s  front doors (no tornado needed), until April 6, 2026. Visitors are  encouraged to dress up as their favourite characters, take photos, smell  the flowers, browse the gift shop’s selection of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz merchandise, and be carried away by the intricate storytelling that can be done with flowers and inventiveness.