IN BLOOM

Botanical Garden, Oakland Cemetery are in full flower

The Atlanta Botanical Garden and Oakland Cemetery are celebrating the arrival of spring with a celebration of blooms.

Orchid Daze

The Botanical Garden’s annual Orchid Daze exhibition opened in February and continues through April 10 with thousands of gorgeous orchids.

This year’s Orchid Daze emphasizes the contrasts between vibrantly colored orchids and naturalistic wooden elements, highlighting the many ways these plants often grow on trunks, branches and stems of other plants. “We strive every year to showcase the beauty of orchids in unexpected ways,” says Becky Brinkman, Fuqua Orchid Center Manager.

During the run, there will be special Orchid Market Weekends with experts on hand to offer advice, supplies, orchid art, jewelry and more.

Orchid care clinics are being held daily between 10 a.m.-12 p.m. for advice on how to make the temperamental flowers thrive.

For more information, visit atlantabg. org.

Daffodil Day

For a second year, the Historic Oakland Foundation has partnered with the Georgia Daffodil Society to present Daffodil Day, a springtime celebration of Oakland

Cemetery’s ubiquitous heirloom bloom. Free and open to the public, Daffodil Day will be held on March 19 from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the afternoon will feature areas of interest and activities for all ages and expertise levels. Daffodil Day includes garden walks, presentations, a cut flower display, dialogue with local daffodil and gardens experts, and a craft and story time area for kids.

Presenters include Sara Van Beck, a lifelong gardener widely regarded as one of the country’s foremost daffodil authorities. Betsy Abrams, award-wining gardener and member of the Georgia Daffodil Society will also present, alongside gardener Adam Martin, who is a member of the Southern Garden History Society and Georgia Perennial Plant Society.

GDS will host an “Ask the Expert” table for novice gardeners to get advice on best practices, and Oakland Cemetery’s Visitors Center and Museum Shop will include many plant- and garden-related items, including autographed copies of Van Beck’s book. Daffodil Day also gives visitors an opportunity to view Oakland Cemetery’s recently opened Beaumont Allen Greenhouse, the cemetery’s first functioning greenhouse on-site in more than 40 years.

For more information, visit oaklandcemetery.com.