Day Trips to See Orchids

Day Trips to See Orchids
Phipps Conservatory and the Cleveland Botanical Gardens
Winter 2014

We had a long, cold winter!  I enjoy winter activities so I usually make the most of a snowy season but even I was getting the winter time blues brought on by the bleak weather.  However, my friends and I came up with a way to get out of the freezing temperatures and escape to a tropical climate if only for a few hours.  The Cleveland Botanical Gardens in Cleveland, Ohio and Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, PA both hosted orchid displays during the winter months.

My friend Scooter (from Pennsylvania) and I decided to meet up at Phipps Conservatory ($15/pp- free parking along street) in Pittsburgh on a Friday evening to take in their Orchids & Bonsai Show.  Phipps has several large connected glasshouses with various themes like the Palm Court or the Tropical Room with many varieties of orchids placed along the walkways.  There was also a room displaying bonsai trees in various shapes and sizes.  Because we were there after dark, many of the greenhouses were dim, lighted with simple strings of white twinkle lights and illuminated paths and walkways.  The whole display was stunning.  The heat and humidity of the India Room was especially invigorating for me.  Scooter and I made our way along the garden walkway through all the rooms, pointing out our favorite orchids, plants and trees. 

We headed over to the Thunderbird Café next to see a band called Cello Fury.  The place was packed!  We ended up sharing a veggie quesadilla and talking the whole night.  Luckily we were stationed in front of a telecast of the stage so we could at least see the band on screen.

The next weekend Meg, Neil, Holly, Red and I headed to Cleveland Botanical Garden’s ($11/pp, $9 parking in deck) Orchid Mania show.  Cleveland’s glasshouse is smaller than Phipps but it seemed as if they packed just as many orchids into a smaller amount of space- there were orchids everywhere I looked.  So many different varieties and vibrant colors were displayed that I literally took 100+ pictures.  The warm mist and sunlight of the rainforest room felt energizing and the butterflies that filled the air were a delight.  What a lovely way to get out of the cold for an afternoon!

We headed to lunch at Melt in Cleveland Heights on our way home and enjoyed huge gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and hangover fries.  Both excursions were the perfect ways to get out of the frigid winter and recharge with friends for a few hours.