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The Anne d’Harnoncourt Sculpture Garden is located behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art, on the elevated terrace adjacent to landscape architectural firm Olin’s gorgeous Sol LeWitt garden. (Photo courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art)

If too much time in the city leaves you feeling slightly less than organic, a garden stroll might be the perfect solution.

Before the winter weather sets in, bypass your neighborhood park and head over to the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Anne D’Harnoncourt Sculpture Garden.

Located on top of a brand new parking facility, this artfully landscaped green “gallery without walls” is located between the Azalea Garden and the museum’s West Entrance.

There, amidst nature tamed into respectable greenery, you’ll find untamed and irreverent abstractions from some of the world’s finest artists. The garden is dedicated to the museum’s late director Anne d’Harnoncourt, and reflects her passions for art and the city of Philadelphia.

Weary wanderers will have the chance to rest their legs on recent acquisition Lips (2012), by late Austrian artist Franz West. While the playful pastel sculptures reach into the new fall sky, they leave plenty of ground room to double as park benches that put the childhood jungle gym to shame.

If garden lakes are more your style, quench your thirst with Ellsworth Kelly’s Curve I (1973), modeled after the artist’s impressions of a flattened paper cup. While it may not ripple in the sunlight, its weathering steel oxidizes over time, demonstrating interaction with the environment in an ever-growing blush of rust. This new installation serves as complement to the Museum’s dedicated Ellsworth Kelly gallery.

Insider tip: Just down the Parkway at the new Barnes Foundation, you’ll find another another Ellsworth Kelly sculpture standing at the head of a reflecting pool on the north side of the building.

Don’t be daunted by the acre of art – the sculpture garden is open to the public throughout museum hours. Pack a picnic to enjoy on the benches or green nearby.

Anne D’Harnoncourt Sculpture Garden
26th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
www.philamuseum.org