If you step under the glass pyramid of the Olbrich Botanical Gardens’ Bolz Conservatory, you would be pulled into a kaleidoscope of color and fragrance.
In their annual carnival-themed showcase of orchids for the last month, the Gardens have shown many whimsical species of orchids. These plants are from one of the most diverse plant groups on Earth, and their exhibit has brought in hundreds of visitors from Madison and beyond.
Olbrich’s Bolz Conservatory was built in 1991 to showcase a wide variety of tropical plants. In line with the Olbrich Gardens’ goals, the Conservatory supports the conservation of plants from the Midwest to the tropics and fosters a community appreciation for plant life through education, research and recreation.
Its glass pyramid houses a year-round collection of hundreds of tropical plants from around the world, ranging from palm trees and pines to carnivorous plants and hanging flowers. As you roam through the greenery, the garden’s resident quail run along the ground and songbirds flit through the indoor trees.
The exhibit’s orchids filled the spaces between the permanent collection of plants, streaming into the walkways with brilliant colors and shapes. Olbrich’s staff beautifully arranged the orchids into human-sized displays of dancers on tightropes and strongmen carrying baskets of orchids. This fun and forested carnival exhibit offers a warm and exciting respite from the cold of the winter months.
Accompanying the gardens is the earthy bookstore and gift shop, where you can buy informational guides for gardening, outdoor exploration and communion with nature. Olbrich Botanical Gardens also has a free, 16-acre outdoor garden filled with native plant beds, rose gardens, herb plots and a Thai Pavilion.
The Orchid Escape exhibit will be back next winter. Until then, Olbrich Botanical Gardens will be hosting monthly events involving all things plants, including a spring flower show in March, several canopy sessions and many plant sales.
This Tuesday, the Gardens are closing the exhibit, but the excitement isn’t over yet. On March 2, the public can purchase and pick up orchids from the gardens through an online auction available on the Olbrich Botanical Garden’s website.
