Massachusetts is home to one of nation's top destinations for flower lovers
BOYLSTON – Massachusetts is home to one of the nation's top spots for flower lovers, and they're already in full bloom.
New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill has been voted among the best botanic gardens in the United States. They operate on 200 acres in Boylston, and have become a destination for horticulture lovers around the region and beyond.
"Well I think just the nature of a garden is something always changing. It's the seasonality of a garden that keeps it interesting," CEO Grace Elton said.
Right now, the Botanic Garden is in the middle of one of their more popular exhibitions. Patterns in Bloom is an orchid exhibit that features more than 2,000 displays of this favorite plant.
"There is an orchid frenzy that's been going on for hundreds of years and I don't see it slowing down," Elton said. "I think that one reason is that they are always really readily available. You can find them at the grocery store or the hardware store now."
But the orchids that are on display are not ones that you will find just anywhere. This exhibit shows the rarest types of the plant.
"They're so intricate and interesting and there's such a wide diversity. It's the largest flower and plant family," Elton said. "So there's thousands and thousands of types of orchids and we are showing 80 different types of orchids in our exhibit."
Alongside many of the arrangements are also displays of art from mixed media artist Molly Gambardella. She makes sculptures with plastic bags.
"What she does is fuse them with heat and pressure and they make kind of a tarp material. Then she can paint, cut and sew into orchid forms," Elton said.
At the garden it will be orchids, orchids and more orchids for at least two more weeks.
"We want you to come and be inspired. Get really excited, take a lot of pictures, post it and tag us please," Elton said.
The exhibit runs through March 17. Click here for more information.
