Orchid shows brighten up winter’s last gray days

NEW YORK — Enough already with chilly gray winter. Time to pick up a bouquet of bright pink tulips and start thinking about spring.

In many places, it will be weeks before daffodils and hyacinths start peeking through the ground, but there are plenty of flower shows to see in the meantime. Some are big annual events with themes that change every year, like the famous Philadelphia Flower Show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, this year March 1-8 with a “Bella Italia” theme, www.theflowershow.com (tickets, $22).

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In this Feb. 24, 2008 file photo Luca Santangeli gets a close up view of an arbor harboring dozens of orchids as he tours the New York Botanical Garden’s orchid show on his father’s shoulders in New York.

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In this March 26, 2008 file photo cherry blossoms bloom by a reflection of the Washington Monument near the tidal basin in Washington, D.C. where the Cherry Blossom Festival will commence on March 28.

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The New York Botanical Garden’s Phalaenopsis orchids displayed among palm trees in the reflecting pool of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.

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Other displays focus on one type of flower, like the various orchid shows that showcase the jungle plant’s intense blooms at gardens and exhibit halls around the country.

One of those annual orchid shows held each year just as the cold weather starts to lift is at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx.

“We’re in the last gray days of winter,” said Marc Hachadourian, curator of NYBG’s Glasshouse Collection. “What better place to be than a tropical paradise filled with exotic orchids?”

Here are some details.

ORCHIDS

The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx hosts its seventh annual orchid show, this year showcasing the plants in a contemporary Brazilian garden design with fountains, pools, mosaics and palms. “The Orchid Show: Brazilian Modern” takes place Feb. 28-April 12. The garden is open Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; admission, $20. Details at www.nybg.org. For more info on traveling to New York, check out our New York City travel guide.

The Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis celebrates its 150th anniversary this year and has been hosting orchid shows for an impressive 91 of those years. The orchid show is called “Henry’s Garden,” named for Henry Shaw, who founded the garden in 1959. The show features more than 800 orchids with a Victorian theme, including a three-tiered fountain, large planters brimming with flowers, wrought-iron lamp posts, urns and other period pieces to suggest a 19th century courtyard. The show runs through March 15 (garden open daily, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. $11), www.mobot.org.

Among the best places to view orchids are local and regional shows sponsored by orchid societies. The South Florida Orchid Society bills the 63rd Miami International Orchid Show as the largest exhibiting orchid show in the country. It will take place Feb. 27-March 1 with a theme of “Secret Orchid Gardens” at the Doubletree Miami Mart/Airport Hotel and Exhibition Center. The program includes a juried awards competition, daily demonstrations by orchid experts, and sales of thousands of orchids and related items. Details at www.southfloridaorchidsociety.org. For more info on traveling to Miami, check out our Miami travel guide.

For a complete list of orchid shows around the country, visit the American Orchid Society, www.aos.org. Click on “Events,” then “Show Schedule,” with listings for dozens of shows around North America and even some in the Caribbean and South America. Here are a few scheduled for March; most include displays, juried shows, sales, and expert advice.

International Orchid Festival, March 13-15, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, www.fairchildgarden.org. Miami travel guide.

Atlanta Orchid Society Show, March 12-15, Atlanta Botanical Gardens, http://www.atlantaorchidsociety.org/. Photos.

Greater Cincinnati Orchid Society Show, March 14-15, Krohn Conservatory, Eden Park, Cincinnati. Cincinnati Travel Guide.

Western North Carolina Orchid Society Show, “Orchid Mystery: Journey to the Far East,” March 28-29, North Carolina Arboretum, Asheville, N.C., www.wncos.org. Asheville Travel Guide.

OTHER GARDEN SHOWS, FESTIVALS AND EVENTS

In addition to the Philadelphia Flower Show, which is the largest of its kind, many localities and botanical gardens host major events to celebrate the flowers of spring. Here are a few of them.

Charleston, S.C.’s Middleton Place Camellia Walks, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays through March 26, ww.middletonplace.org. Guided tours focusing on camellias, reservations required, 843-556-6020. Charleston Travel Guide

National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington D.C., March 28-April 12, www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org D.C. Travel Guide

Atlanta Dogwood Festival, April 17-19, Piedmont Park; www.dogwood.org. Atlanta Dogwood Event Guide

Cincinnati Flower Show, April 18-26, Symmes Township Park, Symmes Township, Ohio, www.cincyflowershow.com/. Cincinnati Travel Guide.