Orchid Season

The Philosopher and I had a long weekend recently and took the opportunity to go up to the Botanical Garden for the Orchid Show. It's a wonderful pop of color during the gray days of winter.  

The sock went with us. I tried to find an orchid that was the same colors but wasn't able to. 

There were lovely splattered looking orchids

These blue/purple ones were dyed. The blue ones are originally white, the purple are pink orchids. If we could get our orchids at home to bloom again, I'd be tempted to try this. 

Of course they also come in vibrant yellow shades! My orange pictures didn't turn out, sadly, but there were some phenomenal shades of orange as well. 

Some were painted ladies...and others, like the one below, looked like a screaming mouse. 

I can't be the only one that sees a screaming mouse in the orchid, can I? Ears, teeth, and possibly Mick Jagger's tongue. 

I particularly liked this orchid, it looked like something you'd see in coral, all frilly and silly. 

And finally, this one looked like a butterfly. I loved how utterly perfect it looked, right except for the one little flip a the top petal.  So delicate and lovely. 

The show is running for a couple more weeks if you're in the Chicago area. I encourage you to consider a weekday trip if at all possible. We had plenty of time and space to look at flowers, take pictures, and enjoy things. Weekends when I have been it has been mobbed.