Jenny Sabin’s trip to the Jardin des Plantes in Paris 11:59 am, August 15, 2011

The first of The Greenhouse Projects to open to the public will be Jenny Sabin’s Greenhouse and Cabinet of Future Fossils (Sept. 9 – Dec. 31). Created entirely out of recycled materials, Sabin’s greenhouse is a modern answer to Empress Josephine Bonaparte’s famous greenhouse at her Malmaison estate. Coal-burning stoves heated Josephine’s greenhouse, which was home to a variety of rare flowers and plants. Sabin’s own structure will require no heat and uses no glass. Inside, Sabin will include a Cabinet of Future Fossils, a 21st-century take on early cabinets of curiosity.

Before starting work for The Greenhouse Projects, Jenny Sabin spent some time at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. This garden is the other major historical site that inspired her work for the APS Museum. A department within the Paris Muséum of Natural History, the Jardin des Plantes remains one of Paris’s most important botanical sites.

Sabin sent us some images that inspired her work. Take a look at the slide show for a peek into what fueled her creative process.