Nature is a deep and wonderous thing, and some plants are a living reminder of the old truths and hidden histories of our world. The Olbrich Botanical Garden’s fifth annual “Orchid’s Escape” conservatory event captures the splendor in celebrating the Orchid’s long-lived beauty.
This year’s theme is “Rise of the Angiosperm,” celebrating the Orchid’s origins in the time before the age of man.
Walking into the conservatory, you might have to rub the mist with your glasses, and you will be surrounded by a jungle of Orchids. Around the garden you will see informative notes on the Orchid’s history and specific place of origin in the modern world for each flower.
Among the leaves and petals, you can spot hanging prisms of amber, with plants and insects caught forever in time. Also hidden among the fronds are the eggs and bones of many great lizards.
On the upper balcony, with a great view of the conservatory, there are plaster casts of fossil records of many of the modern orchid’s ancient ancestors.
Visitors of all ages will have a great time with the lush flowers and fun dioramas in the unseasonably warm conservatory.
“Orchid Escape Rise of the Angiosperm,” is open to visitors 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and will be on display until Sunday, March 3. General admission costs $8.00, children 6-12 years old are $5.00, and children under five are free.
If you see an orchid so lovely that you must take it home, there will be an online orchid sale beginning March 7 at 10 a.m. Orchid pick-up will be on Saturday, March 9, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.