Every spring, the downtown Minneapolis Macy’s partners with local floral giant Bachman’s to create a themed flower show that attracts thousands of visitors. And every spring, I think about going but never actually do. This was a milestone year, however, because my family happened to be hosting some out of town guests. Since they were from afar (Switzerland) it was a pretty good excuse to see some sights in the city that we don’t usually see.

This year’s Secret Garden theme lent itself nicely to little themed gardens within a garden. There was a little English garden, a German garden and a Japanese garden. The Pièce de résistance was a flower-bedecked sculpture of a women in a dress of red roses.

If you can’t make it to the show, here are some photos to give you a taste of Macy’s interpretation of the Secret Garden. It’s certainly an excursion to put you in the mood for spring, even though an April snowstorm is on its way.

If you go: The entire show takes place in one room on the sixth floor of the Macy’s building, accessible from Macy’s by escalator and elevator. The show continues through April 6 during store open hours. I was there on a Sunday right before closing and there was no wait, but a coworker of mine waited in line for 45 minutes to get in the day before. The lighting doesn’t lend itself well to taking pictures AT ALL, so bring a good camera and a lot of patience.