"art at the Franklin Park Conservatory... exhibit... Barb Arnold, conservatory horticultural designer. ... About 550 orchid plants and thousands of blossoms... center stage in "The Orchid Forest," which continues through March 4 at the conservatory. Visitors will step through a mock birch woodland and into rolling fog and through a Spanish-moss "cave" into the Tropical Rainforest biome... transformed into a feast of flowers.... ... Orchids were second, behind poinsettias, in potted-plant wholesale sales in 2005, jumping by 12 percent to $144 million, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Survey. ... Cut maple trees and branches added to the rain-forest room... hold epiphytes, or air plants...
Orchids... easy to see along rocks, waterfalls and tropical foliage, Arnold said. .. Plants were flown in from growers in California, Chicago and Hawaii... said Dave Brigner, conservatory plant recorder and orchid specialist. Most of the orchids eventually will be added to the 1,200-strong conservatory collection. ... During winter, Brigner keeps about 50 orchids in his East Side basement under fluorescent lights for 14 hours a day. The plants spend summers outside. ... Nancy Heath, spokeswoman for the Central Ohio Orchid Society... has more than 60 in her North Side home, not unusual for the 200 or so society members." article URL : http://www.columbusdispatch.com/homegarden/homegarden.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/14/20070114-I1-01.html photos : http://www.dispatch.com/2007/01/14/20070114-Pc-I2-0800.jpg http://www.dispatch.com/2007/01/14/20070114-Pc-I2-0700.jpg [caption : Horticulturist Debra White helps set up the "Orchid Forest" exhibit at the Franklin Park Conservatory. "O] http://www.dispatch.com/2007/01/14/20070114-Pc-I1-0300.jpg *********** Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
