The Cleveland Botanical Garden has traded its usual tropical paradise for the Wild West this winter with its annual orchid show, “Orchid Rodeo,” which opened last weekend and runs through Sunday, April 5.
The exhibit features more than 3,000 orchids throughout the garden’s glasshouse biomes. Ryan Sandy, the Botanical Garden’s associate director of guest experience, says this year’s show represents a deliberate shift toward vibrant, playful themes that should help alleviate the winter blues.
A guest studies a dendrobium latoria mini snowflake orchid.”We always try to bring something bright and colorful right in the middle of winter,” he says, adding that the western theme plays on country music’s growing popularity while creating unexpected connections between orchids and the desert.
“Over the last few years there’s been a lot of momentum with country music and western style in pop culture moving into different spheres and different communities of culture,” Sandy explains. “So we wanted to grab onto some of that momentum and bring it to the garden.”
Breaking orchid stereotypes
Sandy concedes that “Orchid Rodeo” visitors might question the connection between the delicate beauty of orchids and desert landscapes, but he says the exhibit challenges common misconceptions about the resilient flowering plants.
“Orchids grow in really harsh environments—they grow on every continent except Antarctica,” he explains, adding that Ohio is actually a great environment for orchids.
“A lot of the people think of places like Hawaii for orchids, [or other] tropical locations,” Sandy says. “There are only about three species of orchids native to Hawaii, and we have like over 50 that are native to Ohio.”
With the potential harsh climates in Ohio at times—both in the summer and winter months—the western theme reinforces the message of resilience.
Orchids at the Cleveland Botanical Garden”These western environs are very unforgiving,” says Sandy. “Orchids are able to live in a lot of harsh environments and they have persevered, so we wanted to highlight that.”
Sandy says the elaborate installations created in the Botanical Garden’s yearly orchid exhibits take almost a year of planning and collaboration to create a truly immersive experience.
“We start thinking about next year’s orchid show during the current year’s orchid show,” he says. “We’ve been thinking about this since last February.”
The planning requires several departments working together to create seasonal variety and a new experience throughout the seasons.
“These special shows that we have, we want to make it so that, depending on the time of year, when you come to the botanical garden, you’re going to have a completely different experience,” Sandy says.
Go west
Sandy says the rodeo theme extends beyond the visual displays to include specialized programming throughout the exhibition’s run.
“This theme also allows us to do a lot of really cool programming and events,” he says. “Like, we’ll have line dancing nights and a lot of additional cool events and educational programs throughout the run.”
Sandy says he is particularly excited about the two line dancing events in March. “Line dancing is kind of having a little bit of a renaissance,” he says. “ We have some really cool partners that do the line dancing here in Cleveland.”
Orchids at the Cleveland Botanical GardenAdditionally, the Botanical Garden’s newly renovated Garden Café, operated by Spice Catering Co., will offer themed food and drinks to complement the western atmosphere.
“Every Saturday night, we’re going to be open late, so that’s always a fun date night,” says Sandy. “You can go into our glasshouse biomes at night, and we’ll have them all lit up. It’s a really magical time to see all the things. We have over 3,000 orchids. So they’re everywhere you look.”
Special events and tickets
Those who are interested in learning more about orchids can participate in Orchid Care 101 to learn the basics, or participate in a selection of orchid-related events and programs. The Greater Cleveland Orchid Society Orchid Show and Sale is on Saturday and Sunday, March 14 and 15.
Admission is free for Cleveland Botanical Garden members; for non-members tickets are $21 for adults and $15 for children; children under age two are admitted free.
The Cleveland Botanical Garden, 11030 East Blvd, Cleveland, 44106, is closed on Mondays and is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sundays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
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