Helsinki: Miracle Garden

I step off the train at Helsinki Railway Station and start walking towards the station building. It is close to noon and the station seems fairly quiet. Another calming effect is waiting for me at the end of the platform: there is a temporary garden! The large flowerbeds, or actually something larger than that (for there are even young apple trees about to bloom), welcome me to Helsinki, celebrating the summer that is just about to begin.

The Miracle Garden (Ihmepuutarha) has turned this normally rather dull area into a lovely sight. Among the different plants and flowers, there are also totem-like statues which are the wooden cousins of the large stone figures in front of the main railway station building (designed by architect Eliel Saarinen). The stone figures have been used a lot in the railway company VR's advertising over the past few years.

I think I spot another local celebrity hiding in the belly of the wooden totem: Bubi the Eagle Owl which became the unofficial mascot of the Finnish national football team in 2007. He flew a couple of times over the football field during a match and brought good luck to the team, thus earning the nickname Huuhkajat (Eagle Owls) to the football team!

Another nice detail in the Miracle Garden are the Miracle Watering Pots which are hanging in the air...

... and taking care of watering of the beautiful plants, without a pause. I'm almost hoping for another visit to Helsinki before Miracle Garden disappears from the railway station in mid-June.

Congratulations to VR which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year (the first rail service began between Helsinki and Hämeenlinna in 1872), and thank you for sharing the flowers with us passengers! This is a beautiful way of celebrating also World Design Capital Helsinki 2012. My step is lighter already.