One of the sure signs that spring is coming in Washington, DC is the annual orchid show at the U.S. Botanic Gardens. This year’s show – “An Alphabet Garden of Orchids” – runs from February 2 – April 13. If you’re going to be in the DC area in the next several weeks, be sure to plan a visit to this year’s show – it is spectacular.

I took a little time on Monday morning to head into the city to see the orchids. Once I got inside the Botanic Gardens an abundance of blooming orchids made it easy to forget just how cold and damp it was outside.

Here are a few of the orchids I saw

Some Golden Treasure orchids (Phalaenopsis – Baldan’s Kaleidoscope ‘Golden Treasure’ ) – I really like the contrast of the purple and the soft yellow on the petals on this one.

Golden Treasure Orchids (c) 2008 Patty Hankins

Some Taida Candy Rose Orchids (Doritaenopsis Candy Rose ‘Taida’) – these are an amazing pink/purple flower

Candy Rose Orchids (c) 2008 Patty Hankins

A Peter Black Emerald Orchid (Paphiopedilum Peter Black “emerald”) – I thought the shape and colors on this one were unique.

(c) 2008 Patty Hankins

Some Kibi Angel Smile Orchids (Dendrobium Angel Smile “Kibi’ Nobile Dendrobium Hybrid) – I really like the ruffled petals on these orchids.

(c) 2008 Patty Hankins

And finally a few Miva Smartissimo Orchids (Phalaenopsis Miva Smartissimo X Phal Canberra) – beautiful soft pink flowers

The U.S. Botanic Garden is located on the National Mall between the Capitol and the Smithsonian museums. The entrance to the Botanic Garden is 100 Maryland Ave, SW, Washington, DC.

Parking is very limited in this part of the city. There are just very few metered space in the area. The easiest way to get to the Botanic Garden is to take Metro – the nearest stations are Federal Center SW and Capitol South on the Orange and Blue lines.

The Botanic Garden is open from 10AM – 5 PM daily, including weekends and holidays. Admission is free.

I hand held my camera for all the photos I took on this trip into the city. The Botanic Garden only issues one tripod permit per day – and they don’t issue them on weekends during the orchid show. On a sunny day, there is plenty of light for taking photos without a flash. I had my camera set at ISO 400 for most of the photos.

I’ll have a few more orchid photos in another post next week, and I’m sure I’ll get back to the Botanic Garden before the Orchid Show closes on April 13.