Look for a variety of festive poinsettias, showy amaryllis and aromatic paperwhite narcissus arranged in garden scenes plus evergreens glowing with thousands of LED lights, and a dinosaur-themed Garden Railroad at the Winter Flower Show in Phipps Conservatory, 700 Frank Curto Drive, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Opened last weekend, it sparkles through January 12, 2014.

New this year, artists Matthew McCormack and Jenn Figg have filled the Conservatory’s west wing with glass mushrooms, ferns, bromeliads and tillandsia illuminated from within as a network of constellations transforms the ceiling overhead with twinkling stars against a soft aurora borealis-like glow.

Plus, an expanded Winter Light Garden extends the holiday fun into the Outdoor Garden, where you will be dazzled by glowing orbs, “dripping” snowballs, luminous trees and a fountain of light as you follow meandering pathways through a winter wonderland.

Daily hours for the Winter Flower Show are 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and 5 to 11 p.m. for the Winter Light Garden. On December 6, 2013, the Tropical Forest Conservatory is open only to guests 21 or older. Phipps closes at 5 p.m. on December 24 and reopens at 9:30 a.m. on December 26. Admission is $15 for adults, $14 for seniors and students, and $11 for children (ages two – 18); under two enter free.

Note: the Winter Light Garden may be subject to temporary closures in the event of heavy rains or other inclement weather conditions.

Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens consists of several buildings and grounds adjacent to Schenley Park and very close by the Carnegie Museums in Pittsburgh’s East End neighborhood of Oakland; access is via Schenley Drive (look for the big Victorian glasshouse, directly across from Flagstaff Hill).