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Fiery red tendrils rise alongside unfurling ferns; vibrant yellow spires pierce through pointy yuccas; and bright orange fronds ascend from flowerbeds to mimic the trees that surround them.

Although fall is upon us, this glorious display is not to be found in the woods of Western Pennsylvania, but instead nearly 200 miles away in Columbus, Ohio, where the new exhibition "Chihuly at the Conservatory" opened Saturday at the Franklin Park Conservatory.

Amid the twisting, turning walkways that wind through multi-level flowerbeds, around waterfalls and through towering trees, some of which are well over a century old, are numerous unique glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly, glass artist extraordinaire and National Living Treasure -- the first American to be officially deemed so in 1992.

Outside of such a setting, it's easy to spot a Chihuly piece, because the artist chooses to work in several unmistakable styles. For example, he creates nesting bowls that look like solidified smoke puffs he calls "Basket Sets," rippled platters he calls "Persians," and abstract, Asian-styled floral arrangements he calls "Ikebana." And those are just a few of the forms Chihuly's sculptures take, all of which are in glass and all in the most vibrant, sometimes unearthly, colors.

But inside the conservatory, looking for Chihuly's work is an adventure akin to an Easter egg hunt. So visually enticing that once you've found one piece perfectly nestled between florae, you can hardly wait to find the next.

The exhibition is the first of its kind for the Franklin Park Conservatory, says its executive director, Paul Redman. A trained horticulturist and not, as he says, an "art person," Redman first got wind of Chihuly's work after a few Columbus-area art collectors told him about the exhibition "Chihuly in the Park: A Garden of Glass" that they had seen last year at Chicago's Garfield Park Conservatory. Thinking a similar show would be perfect for the Columbus conservatory, they urged Redman to go see it.

"When I went to the Garfield Park Conservatory to see it, I was somewhat skeptical, not knowing exactly what I would see and (whether) I thought it would be a good fit for here," Redman says. "But as soon as I walked into the conservatory in Chicago, I immediately knew that we had to have it."

That meant sending a proposal to Chihuly, who is based in Seattle, that included a brief history and video about the Franklin Park Conservatory, which was built in 1895 and updated in 1992.

As it turns out, Chihuly is a fan of old conservatories, says Jennifer Lewis, exhibitions coordinator for Chihuly Studios. "Ever since Dale was a young man, he's been fascinated with glass houses," she says.

So on Sept. 29, three 53-foot semi trucks pulled onto the conservatory's 88-acre grounds, and nine of Chihuly's 70-member staff began unloading the 2,646 pieces of glass needed to create the exhibition.

After 10 days of installing the wildly colored works that range from numerous organically shaped tubes, fronds and tendrils to massive "chandeliers," or sculptures made up of multiple pieces that hang from ceilings, trellises and alcoves -- the largest of which is "Sunset Tower," which at 161/2 feet tall is comprised of 666 individual pieces of glass -- the installation was complete.

"It's an unusual setting for us," says Tom Lind, project manager for Chihuly Studios, about the conservatory. Lind estimates Chihuly Studios averages between 70 to 100 installations of Chihuly's works worldwide each year in museums, galleries, commercial establishments and homes, even cruise ships. But, as one might expect, very few are like this.

"We've done a lot of outdoor installations. We've done a lot of museum shows. But this combines both," Lind says. "It's inside, but it's still full of (elements from) the outside -- the sunlight and the plant life."

And that is what makes this exhibition so special.

Aside from several of the aforementioned chandeliers that hang just inside the conservatory's main entrance and above the information desk, visitors are greeted in the conservatory's grand atrium by a chartreuse green grand piano that Chihuly designed for Steinway & Sons.

In the hallway leading up to the central Showhouse, a multitude of brightly lit "Persians" and other free-form glass pieces crowd a hung Plexiglas ceiling. And in the Showhouse itself, a brilliant orange and red "Torchiere Installation" shoots up from a round pyramid of succulents like a bonfire.

Throughout the conservatory's seven remaining display areas, the works, which have been placed in nearly every imaginable nook and cranny among the conservatory's estimated 1,200 different species of plants, appear to complement the nature that surrounds them. But, says Lewis, "Dale doesn't set out to imitate nature." Instead, she says, "He recognizes the organic, fluid characteristics of glass." And therefore, "He doesn't highly manipulate his pieces. I think that's why they come out looking so organic."

Although it is unlikely that Chihuly himself will make a public appearance at the conservatory because, as Lewis says, "For the past year and a half Dale has called a moratorium on public appearances due to an exhaustive exhibition schedule." It is still well worth the trip to Columbus to see this incredible exhibition by one of the country's most amazing artists.

Tagliapietra exhibit a stone's throw from Chihuly's

Pittsburgh-area art lovers who travel to Columbus to see the exhibition "Chihuly at the Conservatory" at the Franklin Park Conservatory are in for a special treat because, just two miles away at the Columbus Museum of Art, the exhibition "Concerto in Glass: The Art of Lino Tagliapietra" also is on display.

A contemporary of Dale Chihuly, Tagliapietra, who originally hails from the Italian island of Murano, first came to America in 1979 to teach a class at the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington state, which was co-founded by Chihuly.

Today, Tagliapietra is considered one of the world's most eminent living glass artists and an integral part of the worldwide renaissance in glassblowing.

Displayed throughout the main-floor galleries of the museum's permanent collection, nearly 50 works reveal an incredible mastery of color, form and technique while remaining grounded in traditional Venetian glassmaking techniques.

Like the Chihuly exhibition, this exhibition will remain on view through March 21.

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