Here’s a ‘Passport to Paradise’ – Orchids, Orchids Orchids!

An Arboretum Exhibit to Warm Your Winter-Weary Heart

              Chaska, Minn. (Jan. 27, 2010) – The Vikings are out of the SuperBowl, the holiday bills are coming due and it’s cold, cold, cold outside.  Now more than ever, Minnesotans need a “winter escape”!
              The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum’s “Great Hall of Orchids” display, opening Feb. 12, is just what the doctor ordered.  Prepare to be dazzled as orchid expert Jerry Fischer fills the Oswald Visitor Center Great Hall with exotic species and hybrids.   The display continues through March 14.   

              The orchids will be displayed in attractive planters on eye-level pedestals. Don’t miss the Orchidarium, a glass-sided orchid terrarium just bursting with dazzling specimens and tropical mists.  The “Great Hall of Orchids” is free with arboretum gate admission ($9 adults).  Several complementary events are planned concurrently with the exhibit, including: 

·         Passport to Paradise Private Preview on Thursday, Feb. 11, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. will provide a first-glance at the orchid exhibit, plus a silent auction and orchid sales. Orchid expert Jerry Fischer will be special guest at a gourmet dinner from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and wine and dessert reception from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Advance reservations required ($65 for dinner or $30 for dessert reception).  Call 952-474-5302 by Feb. 8 or visit arboretum.umn.edu. Throughout the evening, observe four artists at work creating pieces based on the orchid exhibit. The Quick Draw Extraordinaire artists include Mark Balma (oil), Tom Foty (acrylics), Karen Stombaugh (pastels) and Keith Wilcock (watercolor).  All proceeds from the preview event benefit the arboretum.

·         Orchid Culture 101 Class. Saturday, March 13, 9:30 a.m.-noon. Oswald Visitor Center. Orchid expert Jerry Fischer will present tips and techniques for growing orchids in your own home. Learn about light and watering requirements, temperature needs, insect and disease management and more.  Class includes your very own seedling-sized orchid to take home.

·         Orchid Plant Sales: Purchase orchids, orchid books, fertilizer trays and other supplies for orchid growing, Arboretum Gift Store.

·         Flowers Fantastique.  Hurry spring with floral paintings in the Reedy Gallery of the Oswald Visitor Center.  Glorious blooms in watercolor and oil by established artists.  Feb. 11-May 31.

Orchid Trivia: With over 37,000 species and more than 150,000 hybrids, orchids belong to the most diverse family of plants known to man. They are also extremely adaptable – growing in tundra, rainforest, desert and swamps. You’ll find them as far north as Alaska and as far south as New Zealand.  In fact, more than 45 types of orchids grow natively in Minnesota.  -The End –