The Orchids Have Overrun the U.S. Botanic Garden
Thousands of orchids are on display for this year's 27th annual floral exhibit at the U.S. Botanic Gardens in D.C.
One year ago, the Kogod Courtyard between the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery was teeming with a colorful array of blooming orchids, the result of it serving as host of the annual orchid show jointly organized by the United States Botanic Garden and Smithsonian Gardens.
The flowering display was loosely organized around a theme highlighting history’s horticultural heroines — specifically, the dozen-plus women who helped advance the knowledge of and appreciation for orchids.
For this year’s 27th annual show, the focus shifts to the conservatory of the Botanic Garden, where thousands of orchids are displayed in ways that show off their great diversity — in terms of shape, size, color, and scent.
“Discover the World of Orchids” is this year’s broad theme, which also aims to celebrate the technology that has advanced the field and its conservation. From growing orchids through tissue culture, to tools letting us see inside plants down to their roots, technological advancement has changed our relationship with orchids over time.
The display includes hundreds of vibrantly colored orchids seen at ground level, suspended in air, and covering two 9-foot-tall tree sculptures in the Tropics house.
Meanwhile, the Plant Adaptations and Plant Conservation houses will be filled throughout with Dendrobium and Paphiopedilum orchids, and a special display on pollination and pollinators will feature showy slipper orchids and strikingly fragrant Bulbophyllum orchids. All plants are drawn from the vast living collections of both institutions.
To complement the display, the garden will offer orchid-themed education and guidance, including online programs about care and cultivation programs, lectures on conservation, and in-person sessions with experts taking visitors’ questions.
Meanwhile, live orchid plants as well as orchid-related books and memorabilia will be available for purchase in the gift shop, run as a collaboration between Friends of the U.S. Botanic Garden and ReWild, the local chain of plant shops, with all proceeds benefiting the garden’s education programs.
On display through April 30. U.S. Botanic Garden is at 100 Maryland Ave. SW. Visit www.usbg.gov or call 202-225-8333.
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