Last Friday, my husband and I attended an evening event at the U.S. Botanic Garden called the “Champagne Orchid Soirée,” hosted by the nonprofit organization Friends of the U.S. Botanic Garden. The USBG is currently hosting an annual orchid exhibit in conjunction with Smithsonian Gardens; the 2025 exhibit’s theme is Masters of Deception. We hadn’t seen the exhibit yet, so this soirée was a great opportunity to do so—and the perfect excuse for a date night.
Happy Black Friday! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I’m here to let you know that my Brooklyn Orchids 2025 Calendar is now available to purchase in my Zazzle store.
Hello, orchid friends! I’m back to share photos from our first visit to Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens located in Northwest DC. We went specifically to see a new exhibit called Fragile Beauty: Art of the Ocean, but I had been wanting to visit for a long time because the estate has an orchid collection. So of course we also explored the greenhouses while we were there! (P.S. the Fragile Beauty exhibit is very lovely!)
I finally made it to the Smithsonian Gardens 2024 Orchid Exhibit! This year’s exhibit, in collaboration with the United States Botanic Garden, is located in the Kogod Courtyard at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Museum in downtown Washington DC. The 2024 theme is “The Future of Orchids: Conservation and Collaboration,” and the (free!) exhibit runs through April 28. If you’re an orchid fan in the area, this is a must-see!
We’re a few months in to 2024, and I have many blooming orchids to post about! First, I want to share this photo from the rotunda at the National Gallery (west building). We went there in late January and to my surprise, there was a beautiful display of orchids ringing the fountain:
There wasn’t much to report about my orchids for awhile, but now that we’re heading into winter, I have a whole bunch of spikes on my Phalaenopsis orchids! My two Tolumnias have spikes as well. I spent some time photographing the spikes the other day so that I could share pics here.
Before we dive in to my spike extravaganza, I want to remind readers that my 2024 calendar is available in my Zazzle shop. As of this posting, you can get 15% off using the code ZHOLIDAY2023 at checkout.
Okay! The first spike I’ll share is the Phalaenopsis that’s farthest along in the blooming process, with several buds already developing:
