Sat, Jan 27, 2024 – Sun, Mar 3, 2024 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Daily

Orchid Escape

Marvel at eye-popping color around every turn and bathe your senses in botanical bliss. Orchid Escape features over 1,000 blooming orchids artfully displayed for your enjoyment, including new orchids special ordered from vendors as well as specimens from our own permanent collections.

Everyone/All Ages
At Olbrich

$8 - General Admission | $5 - Child (ages 6-12) | FREE - Ages 5 & under | FREE - Olbrich members

Free admission through the AHS Reciprocal Garden Network is not available during this fundraising event. The outdoor gardens remain free.

Orchid Sale

Online sale begins - March 7 @ 10 a.m.

At the conclusion of Orchid Escape a selection of orchids featured in the Bolz Conservatory will be offered for sale online. Customers purchase orchids by type online and then select individual plants from that type in person on the pick up date.

6" Cymbidium Orchid @ $37.50 each
8" Cymbidium Orchid @ $44.50
3" Novelty Phalaenopsis Orchid @ $14.50
4" Novelty Phalaenopsis (Large) @ $22.50
Dendrobium Orchids @ $23.50
Intergeneric Oncidium Orchids @ $22.50
Paphiopedilum Orchid @ $24.50
Premium Paphiopedilum Orchid @ $32.50

QUESTIONS?
Contact: Jennifer Delaney, Director of Guest Experience


THANK YOU for supporting Olbrich Botanical Gardens!

Orchid Pick-up

Saturday, March 9, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Olbrich member benefit - early bird pick-up from 10-11 a.m. - Join to today!


Orchid Care
Need more information on how to properly care for your new orchids - check out the American Orchid Society culture sheets.

The DETAILS

What to Expect -

    • Pick-up location - Olbrich Gardens' Evjue Commons (straight back, through the lobby)
    • Upon entry into the Evjue Commons, customers will enter a waiting line.
    • Maximum of four customers will be allowed into the pick-up area to select their pre-purchased orchids.
    • Customers select their pre-purchased orchids according to the color coded tags designating the types of orchid.
      • Be sure to locate your receipt prior to arriving at the Gardens. Your receipt displays which color tags you will be selecting your orchids from.

Specific colors and varieties are not guaranteed - subject to availability upon arrival.

    • "Go with the flow" is the motto here!
    • The GOAL - raise funds to support the Gardens while offering the opportunity for folks to purchase discounted orchids.

Depending on availability you may receive an orchid that is currently not in bloom.

  • Once you have selected your orchids a volunteer will verify your order based on your receipt and the color coded tags. Have your receipt ready on your phone or a printed copy.
  • Please bring your own bags / boxes to protect your orchids from the cold and secure your new plant babies for transport.

Rise of the Angiosperm invites guests to explore the fossil record and imagine life on earth over 70 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. Cycads and ferns loomed large overhead, where verdant landscapes met warm, shallow seas brimming with marine life. Dinosaurs still lorded over earth, air, and water.

The very first flowering plants appeared during the Cretaceous Period, including a proto-orchid. After a purported meteor struck earth causing mass extinction, angiosperms including orchids would come to dominate biomass on earth.

The first orchids on earth were terrestrial; taking to the air as epiphytes would come later. Vanilla orchids showed up about 78 million years ago, followed by slipper orchids like paphiopediums about 70 million years ago.

Pollinators coevolved with these plants. Hard to imagine a world without bees, but they evolved from wasps and increased in numbers alongside flowering plants like orchids. The oldest evidence of orchid pollination is courtesy of a fungus gnat.

Thank You to Our 2024 Sponsors

The Jenni & Kyle Foundation

Member Viewing

Sunday, January 28 | 8:30 - 10 am

Enjoy a member exclusive early morning viewing of Orchid Escape. A FREE family-friendly craft will be offered in the Learning Center, along with coffee and light refreshments.