Let’s Play Hooky, Cleveland Style had one of my favourite stops: FLOWERS! Many of the botanical gardens host an orchid show this time of year. Orchids Forever, at Cleveland Botanical Garden, is an excellent display of various types of orchids, some of which are rare.
This is our second time at Cleveland Botanical Gardens. We could enter for free because of our reciprocal membership to the Royal Botanical Garden, which we have used fully and recently renewed. Flowers, trees, and beautifully cultivated areas are impossible to get too much of.
Unsurprisingly, this place was bustling, even when we arrived late in the day. What was a delight was the number of flowers on display, and the displays just kept going. We were rewarded with discoveries simply because we peeked around a corner and found another area full of orchids.
Orchids Forever isn’t on forever, like the name implies. It ends on March 17th, so if you are in the Cleveland area, you must see this before they are gone forever.
This would be our last stop on this particular day of our road trip, but it was not the last time we would stop and smell the flowers. The Royal Botanical Garden was also hosting an orchid show, and it, too, had great displays of these exquisite flowers. Unfortunately, the RBG show was only on that weekend and comprised our last Let’s Play Hooky, Cleveland Style road trip stop.
I had even planned on going to the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens for their orchid show, which has the most extended display of orchids from late January to early March each year. I opted out because we had already been there several weeks earlier.
Orchids come in many varieties, shapes, colours, and sizes. I am impressed with their arrangements, resilience in care, and long flowering. Orchid shows are something I look forward to every year. But what is even more impressive than seeing potted plants is finding one in the wild. We have only encountered this twice in all of our travels.
- To find the locations of the many botanical places we have visited, check out my Featured Map.
- If you are into flowers, gardens, and other displays, consider joining the Reciprocal Admissions Program. We have made excellent use of this program.
- Many of these orchid shows include orchids for sale.
- Many of these venues also rotate through the seasons with other types of shows, ranging from bonsai to spring bulbs, mums, and more.
