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"Orchids: A Moment" (Jan 14 - May 14, 2017) - The Smithsonian Gardens and U.S. Botanic Garden Join Forces at the Hirshhorn


porcupine

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Every year for at least twenty years now Smithsonian Gardens and the US Botanic Garden have teamed up to do an exhibition of orchids from their spectacular collections. The 2017 exhibition will be held at the Hirshhorn Gallery. It opens January 14 and runs through May 14. My understanding is that this is going to be more art show than science exhibit; I know that SG staff are really excited about it. The displays will be changing frequently: as plants finish blooming, they'll be replaced with new ones.

Be aware that crowds are expected for the Yayoi Kusama exhibit starting in late February. I'm told that the lines for that shouldn't interfere with viewing Orchids: A Moment, but don't be surprised. Better yet, get your free timed entry tickets for the Kusama show so you can enjoy both.

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A sidebar to seeing the Kusama show was seeing the lovely orchid show.  It's set up in the main entry area in sort of a giant bookcase arrangement.  The orchids are just beautiful.  The way it is set up, it's a large display, something you could walk past in a couple of minutes or linger for a half hour studying the flowers.  

 

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Ok, I am just going to say it... compared to the normal orchid exhibit at the botanical garden, this was such a let down for me.  I love orchids and grow orchids and always look forward to that exhibit at the botanical garden.  It is room after room of cool orchids.  One mere wall, and then having no exhibit at the botanical garden was a let down for me.  They had some neat specimens, but goodness, I could see this number of orchids in my uncle's green house.  This is cool as a walk-by while seeing the other exhibit, but it didn't hold it's weight on it's own, which I thought the previous exhibit certainly did.  I hope they revert back to the previous exhibit at the botanical garden next year.  

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I'm sorry you were disappointed, but I get it. You aren't the only one who feels that way. As a botanerd and orchid fancier in recovery, I prefer a more science-oriented exhibit; however, I commend Smithsonian Gardens for trying something different. The idea was, if I understand correctly, to try exhibiting them purely as art. Viewed that way I think it's quite successful, but it is a change from what people are used to.

The annual orchid exhibit is held at USBG alternating years, so look for it there next year. In other years it's held at a Smithsonian facility (two years ago it was called Interlocking Science and Beauty; I think it was at Natural History). It's a collaborative effort between two different organizations and I love that they do it.

ktmoomau, if you're an orchid fancier you might appreciate this: fifteen or twenty years ago, SI, USBG, Architect of the Capitol, and maybe a few other entities had a massive shared greenhouse facility near Blue Plains. I went there once with a few employees from Brookside Gardens - we were borrowing some materials - but there was a glitch and we were left cooling our heels for awhile. Then a gentleman whose name I've forgotten came by, introduced himself as the head orchidist for one of the organizations, and offered to take us through the orchid collections. This was beyond special, since the collections held endangered species that were seized under CITES guidelines and were being studied before being repatriated to their home countries. The plants were so protected that he wouldn't accept any volunteers who expressed even an interest in orchids, just in case (he'd had problems with volunteers poaching plants, iirc). I was in geek heaven.

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