Orchid Mania Returns to Cleveland Botanical Garden February 11 - March 20

Orchid Mania Returns to Cleveland Botanical Garden February 11 - March 20 -- Thousands of Orchid Blooms on Display in Victorian Setting -- Opening Celebration on Valentine's Weekend, February 11 CLEVELAND, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- For the Victorians, orchids held a unique and exotic fascination. A serendipitous 1818 discovery -- the English naturalist William Swainson sent home a box packed with tropical orchids from Rio de Janeiro -- set off an orchid craze that lasted throughout the 19th Century. Prim, proper and repressed, wealthy Victorians nonetheless let their passion flow when it came to the red-hot pursuit and admiration of this exotic plant, mounting expeditions to collect rare species from South America, Africa, and even more remote locations. The fever perhaps reached a peak in 1890, when an orchid collector paid pounds Sterling 1,500 -- about $180,000 in modern American dollars -- for a single orchid. Orchids continue to cause a sensation in the 21st century. For the second year, Cleveland Botanical Garden will be filled with hundreds and hundreds of orchid blooms -- enough to put the Victorians in a tizzy. Orchid Mania, a celebration of one of nature's most precious and coveted plants, returns for five weeks, from February 11 - March 20. "This year," says Cynthia Druckenbrod, the Garden's glasshouse manager, "we decided to pay homage to the Victorians, with their special passion for orchid collecting, by featuring exhibits evocative of Victorian times. We are working with Cleveland Museum of Natural History to have some bona fide artifacts from the Victorian era as the backdrop for our beautiful orchids. For instance, one exhibit will show shipping trunks overflowing with orchids, as if the plants have just arrived back in the botanist's laboratory after being collected from far lands and continents." Visitors will also see orchids displayed in period bell jars and in the Wardian cases (miniature greenhouses) popular in the 1800s. The ambience will also include some other touches to make a Victorian naturalist swoon, such as parakeets and Siamese Fighting Fish. The Garden's romance with orchids kicks off on the Friday of Valentine's weekend, February 11, with The Orchid Mania Opening Celebration -- a magical night for taking in orchid after glorious orchid with someone special. The Glasshouse will be open to stroll, and sponsor Heinen's Fine Foods will cater the event, offering delectable hors d'oeuvres, desserts and wines. There will also be live music and a special performance by GroundWorks DanceTheater. Limited tickets are available at all Heinen's locations, InterContinental Hotels Cleveland, The Glidden House, Cleveland Botanical Garden and at www.cbgarden.org/tickets . February in Cleveland has never been quite so appealing. Visitors can expect to see plenty of the colors that so captivated the Victorians -- everything from delicate Moth orchids in shades of pink, lavender, purple, cream and yellow to more intense shades of purple, red, orange, yellow and green associated with Southeast Asia and Central and South America. In addition to the plants, visitors will also view the dramatic black-and- white photographs of nature photographer Clyde Butcher, who, according to a recent CBS News report, carried 50 pounds of camera gear deep into the Fakahatchee Swamp in the hope of getting a shot of the endangered Florida clamshell orchid. Weekends will be filled with workshops, lectures and demonstrations by the Garden's own orchid experts, covering just about every aspect of growing and enjoying orchids. Visitors will have an opportunity to buy some top quality orchids from a variety of vendors on the weekend of February 19 - 20. Northeast Ohio orchid societies will display some amazing specimens the following weekend, February 26 - 27. And on March 20, after the show closes, the plants from the show will go on sale; this is a great opportunity to take home a piece of Orchid Mania, and visitors should plan to come early. Last year's sale was a form of orchid mania in its own right! Cleveland Botanical Garden is located at 11030 East Boulevard in University Circle, Cleveland's cultural district. The Garden is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sundays from Noon to 5:00 p.m. Orchid Mania is free with admission (free to members; $7/adults; $3/children; children under 3 are free). Cleveland Botanical Garden, a nonprofit garden, is a national leader in urban horticulture and botanical education. From its 10-acre campus in University Circle to three inner-city learning gardens and dozens of outdoor classrooms at area schools, the Garden has introduced the benefits of gardening to thousands of people of all ages, interests, backgrounds and abilities. Since its founding in 1930, education has been the core of the Garden's mission, guiding expansion in recent years to include urban outreach, school programs that support national academic standards, and sustainable economic development. It has 6,000 members and bi-annually hosts the nation's largest outdoor flower show. The Garden's website is at www.cbgarden.org . Source: Cleveland Botanical Garden CONTACT: Peter Vertes, Associate Director of Communications of Cleveland Botanical Garden, +1-216-707-2839, or pvertes@cbgarden.org Web site: http://www.cbgarden.org/ http://www.cbgarden.org/tickets ------- Profile: International Entertainment