Alexandria Company Bringing Holiday Joy to Many

By Mary Casey-Sturk

The annual holiday display at the Krohn Conservatory has been a popular destination for area families through the years.  The Krohn features seasonal plantings, such as the poinsettia tree as well as the train display including models of many well-known local landmarks. Among those landmarks are Kings Island, the P&G Towers, Mt. Adams, Tusculum Avenue, the Brent Spence Bridge (sans traffic back-ups), and even the Krohn Conservatory itself. In 2023, a model of the Underground Railroad Freedom Center was added and in 2024, the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky International Airport landed in the display.

Alexandria, Kentucky-based Applied Imagination has been fabricating displays for botanical gardens and other places since 1991. Holiday or seasonal exhibits have been set up at the Atlantic Botanical Garden, the Bellagio Conservatory (Las Vegas), Eiteljorg Museum (Indianapolis), the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Biltmore Estate (Asheville). Founded in the 1970s by Paul Busse, who loved both trains and gardens, his business grew into Applied Imagination and is today run by his daughter, Laura Busse Dolan. Their whimsical displays combine trains and structures made with natural materials and delight audiences of all ages.

Behind the Scenes

Creating a masterpiece in miniature was indeed a team effort.  Living Magazines spoke with Laura Busse Dolan of Applied Imagination about what it takes to bring a mini masterpiece to life.

How long does it typically take to create a structure like this? Dolan shares, “On average our botanical models take 300-500 hours to complete.  Music Hall (added in 2022) was the most elaborate model we have created for the Krohn Conservatory and took around 1,000 hours to complete.”

What other additions have been made to the Krohn’s display since its beginning?

“Each year we try to add a new Cincinnati icon to Krohn’s Holiday Garden Railway.” Replies Dolan adding that in years past, these models have been included, “Roebling Bridge, Union Terminal, Great American Tower, P&G Towers, Fountain Square, Krohn Conservatory, Eden Park Water Tower, Findlay Market, the Winton Place Rail Station, Mount Adams and its incline track, along with many other icons that represent the architectural diversity of the Queen City.” 

While the buildings may be in miniature, making them is no small task. Dolan elaborates, “The concept of botanical architecture was originally developed by Applied Imagination’s founder, Paul Busse. When asked to do his first Garden Railway in a conservatory setting, he looked to elevate the plastic train models, and developed the idea to decorate them entirely out of dried plant material.” Continuing, “this concept has evolved through the hands of our artisans, each building taking 100-1,000 hours to complete, and sometimes much more! With careful handling, and much thanks to our finishing coatings, these buildings can live on for decades. Many in our collections are 25-30 years old and still going strong.”

For lovers of architecture, trains, flowers and local history, the  Krohn Conservatory’s annual holiday season display will bring smiles for years to come! What’s going to be new in 2025? We’ll have to wait and see!