Orchid Orgy

Sunday, March 11--After church today we went to one of our favorite places in St. Louis, the Missouri Botanical Garden. We try to go there for lunch every few months because the exhibits are ever-changing, and the cafe is nice. Every winter the Garden puts on an Orchid Show. Today was the last day of this year's exhibit. It was not to be missed!

Hundreds of orchids of every possible sub-species were on display. Some grew in pots, some were attached by aerial roots to trees or supports, and some were growing at ground level. The display opened the last week of January, and new specimens are continually introduced to keep the view fresh. We could have seen something different here every week all winter. One of our favorites is at left.

This yellow and red number at right was one of the show stoppers. A Japanese man behind us with a very long lens on his expensive camera sighed, "this is the best specimen in the entire show." It certainly drew a lot of attention.

I took at least 80 photos and didn't begin to photograph every flower there. Unfortunately there wasn't time to try to copy down all the names of the plants as well. But this one, at left, has a unusual "Christmas" coloring of light green with a red spot, and it dangled gracefully from high up in a tree.


After we had been through the entire exhibit three times, we moved on to the gift shop. We did not buy any of the tantalizing orchids for sale there, but friends from church were there, too, and Shannon took our picture to prove that we were there.

One of the most unusual types of orchids was this spiky one at left. From a distance it looks kind of like a liatris perennial, but it is an orchid. Upon close examination, every floret on the spike is a teeny, tiny, perfect orchid.

There are many varieties of the so-called lady-slipper orchids that grow in soil at ground level. The ones at right were spectacular. I almost expected that pouch to be full of water--or drowned insects!

Most lady slipper types are in muted tones, but this bright red one was an exception.





Although we all expect orchids to be, well, orchid or pink in color, this show was a riot of blues, reds, yellows, oranges, spots, blends as well as the traditional pinks, purples and whites. We were taken with the orange ones at right, and the red ones below.

The indoor exhibits at the Garden, including the Orchid Show, the Camellias, and the indoor tropical forest of the Climatron, are often the best part of a St. Louis winter. The next time we visit, we'll be out on the spacious grounds, enjoying the spring bulbs, the blooming trees and maybe even the Iris. There is always something new there.