Astana Chia Pets

Obviously, these aren't Chia Pets. What they become reminds me of an amazingly beautiful chia pet. It's an understatement to say my comparison doesn't do these Astana plant statues justice.

During the winter these are just decorative, colorful, cloth coverings for metal frames in unique shapes. When the season is right, they become beautiful sculptures (the horticultural kind).

These elephants reminded me of a little ivory statue that sat on the desk of my former boss, Tom.
These giraffes reminded me of Kara. =D
This is a scene depicting a soldier being sent off to war by his wife, outside their family yurt.
At least one of us was fascinated by this family:
The walkway around the scene is made of these stones. Just goes to show Big Foot is truly world-renowned.
That's actually three camels, in a curved line, heading towards the ball.
This is a caterpillar being carried by ants, when in bloom the caterpillar is a big long flower pot (of sorts).
If you would like to see most of these in bloom, here's a direct link to those pictures in an older post from the Welling's blog. (I definitely recommend taking a look.)