Experience the light and warmth of summer during Orchid Daze, the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s annual tropical plant extravaganza, February 8 – April 11.

Sparkling glasshouses are the natural terrain of exotic orchids in cultivation, and this year’s exhibition makes use of the abundant natural light in the Fuqua Conservatory and Orchid Center to heighten the scintillating beauty of its orchids using a variety of reflective media.

In the east-facing Conservatory Lobby, the soft morning light will be captured by vertical curtains of crystals of varying sizes and shapes, and reflected through alternating layers of jewel-toned miniature orchids. Dendrobium ‘Mini Snowflake’ and Oncidium ‘Twinkles’ will form vertical tapestries through which visitors will stroll, surrounded by carpets of Epidendrum and Oncidiums in myriad colors.

A spiral galaxy of crystals will hover in the vertical space above the corridor linking the Conservatory and Orchid Center. An allee of exuberant blue, orange, pink and yellow Vanda orchids will guide visitors from the Tropical Rotunda to the entrance of the Orchid Atrium. There, a soaring bubble cloud of reflective orbs will drift and spiral from the floor to the Atrium ceiling, enclosed within a parterre-style formal backdrop. Smaller clouds of pink and white orchids will float among the orbs, providing fragrance, color and a dramatic mirrored backdrop for photographs in the warm afternoon light.

A crystalline water feature will form the focal point in the formal bed of the Orchid Display House directly behind the Reflection Pond, where visitors can linger and sit among the orchids on display inside the cedar pergola. Water cascading over a faceted mirrored water wall will provide a background of tranquil sound and shimmering light. Radiant yellow, orange and red orchids will cascade across the front of two panels flanking the water wall and in the beds below.

In conjunction with Orchid Daze, guests may take advantage of a a free Orchid Care Clinic on Saturday March 30 from 10 a.m. – Noon.

For more information, visit atlantabg.org.