Once again, I've taken a ride into the city of St. Louis, heading for the Missouri Botanical Gardens. This time it was to view the orchids and camillias that are in bloom.

What a great way to shed the hard freeze and cold of Winter and get a breath of Spring! The colors and varieties of the orchids are amazing. I took so many photos that my camera batteries gave up! Lucky too, that I had some spares. I was off and running again.

One of the great things about being a member of the Garden is that I had free entry to the show AND a 20% off ticket for any purchase in the Garden Gate gift shop. Parking is free too! Kids of all ages enjoy the gardens.

Upon leaving the orchid exhibit, I headed outside to the Linnean green house where all the camillia's are in bloom. Some of those were disappointing though, as their heads drooped after having been watered. Still, some had such large flowers, they could easily fit in your hand.   
Then, since it was such a nice day, I headed to the Climatron, where all the jungle type plants are located. Mostly it was greenery in here, and just a few flowers. Right away, my glasses steamed up and I had to take those off to see anything! It's nice here too, as they have benches where you can sit and watch the people or bird watch too. Just plain enjoy the warmth and soothing green colors.

After the tour (by myself), I went back in to the main building. They had some special paintings on the walls that were of different types of plants. Some were so realistic that you thought at first that they were real. I especially liked the ones of the dried fall flowers. The leaves looked as though you could easily crumble them! Just inside the building they also had the Boehm porcelain sculptures of birds and flowers. They are amazing to view. They had a huge life size eagle and then the tiniest of bird, the humming bird, lots in between. What a talent that man had for seeing the details!

As you may surmise, I had a great time there and can barely wait to go again. They do change out the orchids and add new ones. You can also purchase them here as well as purchase some of the artists botanical paintings. 

Come to visit! We have one of the best Botanical Gardens around.