If you haven’t been to the Chicago Botanic Garden’s annual Orchid Show, now is a perfect time to go. The Orchid Show, which runs from February 7 to March 22, is a truly spectacular event. My husband and I love orchids, but we had never been to the Orchid Show. Today was cold but sunny and clear, so we decided to drive up. Our digital FOPCON membership cards are conveniently loaded onto our smart phones through the Google Wallet app. The card shows FOPCON is a reciprocal member of the American Horticultural Society (AHS). This designation gives FOPCON members free admission and/or other privileges to almost 400 gardens, greenhouses and conservatories nationwide.
When we arrived at the Chicago Botanic Garden, we paid the standard $10 parking fee for Cook County non-members. After we parked the car, it was a short walk to one of the ticket booths outside the main entrance (Visitor Center). We showed the ticket agent our digital membership card, which gave us free general admission to the Botanic Garden. (The Garden’s regular admission prices vary, depending on the season and day of the week. Today the admission price was $12 each, so we saved $24 using our reciprocal membership privileges.) Once inside the Visitor Center, we bought tickets to the Orchid Show ($16 each), since this is a special event.
The theme of this year’s Orchid Show is “Feeling Groovy.” It is designed to evoke nostalgia for the 1960’s and 70’s. Throughout the greenhouses and interior rooms, somewhere around 10,000 orchids are displayed in amazing and whimsical ways. A Route 66 motel sign peeks out of a lush display of flowers, an actual 1971 yellow Volkswagen Beetle overflows with orchids, a giant peace symbol made of orchids is suspended in mid-air, and the music of the Supremes, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and other classics plays on.
Go to the Orchid Show if you love orchids. It’s an amazing experience.
Kathy FioRito, FOPCON Membership Co-chair
Join the Friends by March 27, 2026 for a chance to win a $50 gift card for the Annual Plant Sale. For more information about Plant Sale 2026, click here.
