ART: Annual Orchid Show, MCP Riverside Gardens

It's that time of year again, the annual orchid show called Jewels of Winter held in the Davis Center in the Riverside Gardens of beautiful Mill Creek Park, Youngstown, Ohio.

This has been a bad year for home orchid growers. The wildly fluctuating temperatures of this winter season affects the indoor room temperatures as well. Orchids do not like drafts. 

My own orchids do not look so good this winter. Two are blooming. One had many buds, but they all fell off. One is green, but not growing. And one is tap-dancing on the edge of doom.

So I did not expect much this year at the show. Boy, was I ever wrong! (It happens...)

This was a great display. They hung their orchids like little hanging baskets with hooks from a wooden garden grid. Each orchid had an information card with name and care instructions.

At one time I had twelve of these beauties. My sister sent me one from the local florist. I bought a few at Lowe's. And I separated my larger ones as they grew too big for their pots.

But orchids need care and we were traveling quite a bit at the time.  So now I'm down to four, but they are hardy. I water them, cover with plastic, and place them away from windows and drafts, but still getting plenty of light.

There was this great giant full color chart with photos of all the different kinds of orchids native to Ohio. It was very informative. 

If you're interested in growing an orchid or two of your own, Orchids.com has a terrific selection of orchid plants online.
You can choose by color, price, or type of orchid. They have a newsletter sign-up, and an orchid of the month club.

"Orchids are the Jewels of the plant world, full of color, let them dazzle you with their brilliance and splendor. During the heart of winter, find the spirit of the tropics here at Davis Center as you observe these exotic beauties on display. Bring your camera, as there will be plenty of amazing flowers to photograph."
                 -from Mill Creek Metroparks
                            brochure

The show runs through March 8. Daily hours are 10:00 am to 5:00 pm daily in the Davis Center at Fellowship Riverside Gardens, 123 McKinley Ave., Youngstown, Ohio 44509 USA. The phone number is (330) 740-7116 for further information.