Tag: botanic garden

The Orchid Show 2023

My friend Lena started a tradition of visiting me in sprig to attend the Chicago Botanic Garden Orchid Show. We did the first one right before the pandemic lockdown, then we did the second one last spring, right after the war in Ukraine started. And last Sunday, we went to the 2023 Orchid Show. Same as before, we took my mom along, and Lena’s friend from Palatine came to join us.

I do not think anybody needs words to describe the orchids. They are magical. This year, the show organizers placed magnifying lenses close to some of the orchids, and neither Lena nor I liked this. We both think, it was a good try but the result was not as magical as one could imagine.

Here they are:

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A Rose Garden

Boris took me to another rose garden – and I thought I knew all of them in Helsinki, at least the ones which are close to the city center. But here is another one – and in walking distance from our home.

And yes, not all of the flowers pictured here are roses, I know 🙂

Now we are finally talking roses!
These ones look so much like the lilac roses in San Jose,just the European size 🙂
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Roses

The whole week after we returned from California was insane. On any given workday, I was actively engaged with more than one customer, so it was a constant context switch. Things were so intense that I could not even have a normal lunch break when I didn’t have to look at my watch all the time or check work emails several times during a meal. Boris and I had only two no-rush conversations during his visit.

Just to be clear, I am far from being done with all the things I need to accomplish by tomorrow, but I want at least to post more pictures from California:)

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Family Time

My girls went back home today. We spent a wonderful five days together, going to places, doing things together, and talking non-stop. After they left, I told Boris that I either became too old or out of practice because I felt tired of all these non-stop activities. He replied that he thinks that I am just out of practice, and I asked whether he implies that I should do it more often. He laughed and said that probably yes.

Speaking about activities, we went to the Botanic Garden on Tuesday.

The signs say: Welcome back! We missed you!
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Roses

It was only when we passed the Helsinki Botanic Garden on one of our bike rides that I realized that I didn’t see roses that summer. It is not like I was not allowed, the Chicago Botanic Garden and many of the city’s smaller rose gardens are open to the public. It just didn’t happen. And when I saw the blooming roses, I wanted to come back and on feet and enjoy them.

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The Orchid Show at Chicago Botanic Garden

It looks like last week, I was fortunate to see three shows which will be now closed. I already wrote about the Field Museum event, and now I am going to writ about the Orchid Show.

My friend Lena (Lena- One, the one who used to live in Palatine and now lives in Ann Arbor) loves orchids, and she visits the Orchid show annually. 

This year, she planned to come the first weekend it was opened (good for her and me!) I was glad, she visited (not even mentioning, it was right after my surgery number two when I needed help). I joined her and her other friend from Palatine for the first time, and we also took my Mom along. 

The show was amazing! My Mom could not believe all of those were indeed orchids 🙂

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