randuwa: Orchids

Showing posts with label Orchids. Show all posts

Friday, April 10, 2015

Hillwood Estate Museum & Gardens: The Growing Beds and Green House (Cafe)

The growing beds lay before other buildings, one of which houses the café. Can I say this? I had the best bowl of clam chowder in my life there today! It was so good and filling that I audaciously cancelled the Caesar Salad that I ordered with it. I just didn't want to mix the memory of it on my palate with something as common. And the staff was completely gracious to accommodate me. Kudos and another reason to visit.

Saturday, February 05, 2011

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History View #1: Orchids, A View From The East

“An orchid in a deep forest sends out its fragrance even if no one is around to appreciate it. Likewise, men of noble character hold firm to their high principles, undeterred by poverty.”

~ Confucius (551–479 BC)

If it's February, it must be Orchid season at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. For 17 years the museum has mounted an orchid display in the bleak of mid-winter. This year's theme is China.

The first formal display is that of a Chinese interior complete with a scroll in the process of being painted with orchids. A few historical Chinese scrolls with orchids as part of the composition accompany the exhibit. One dates back to the 17th century.

Then you round the corner, and you are in the garden.

The final section is orchids on steroids! and comes from the Taiwanese Orchid Society. A wall display opposite this cacophony of color contains the winning orchids from the society's recent annual show.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

9 Views from the annual Mid-Winter Orchid Exhibition @ the SmithsonianMuseum of Natural History, View #1

orchid00, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

After visiting the National Museum of the American Indian, I made my way over to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. And while snow, sleet, and icy rain spit upon The Mall, I spent a casual 30 minutes admiring one of nature's most fascinating forms of flora. The entire exhibition was displayed in a single long room and the air was full of the sweet smells that hundreds of orchids were unleashing in the hopes of discovering a butterfly, a bee, a hummingbird, a fly, or a moth...even a bat. All this was spent on the visitors' olfactory delights while the hopeful orchids' procreative desires were offered to no avail.

Still, a wonderful way to assuage the heart's desire for Spring! Enjoy the rest of these 9 views.