Ohio Botanical Symposium

Mark your calendars for March 19th, all ye plant enthusiasts. That's the date of the 8th annual Ohio Botanical Symposium. This event has become a must-do for Ohio plant afficionados, and is an outstanding way to kick off the botanical season. From its humble beginnings in a classroom at OSU with some 35 attendees, the symposium has grown like a Pokeweed, Phytolacca americana, in your garden. Last year, they filled OSU's Fawcett Center, so you'll want to get on the stick and register soon.

This year's keynote address is by the author of Orchids of Indiana, Mike Homoya. A nicer and more knowledgeable bloke couldn't be dug up, and Mike's orchid images are nothing short of dazzling.

Mike will talk about this one - Large Yellow Lady's-slipper, Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens. We've got 'em here in Ohio, too. If you wanna see this stunner, go here.

Another outrageous orchid, the Pink Lady's-slipper, Cypripedium acaule. You can also see these at Flora-Quest.

There is a fine cast of other speakers, including John Jaeger, who will talk about one of Ohio's most significant and interesting landscapes, the Oak Openings. Packed with rarities, the OO is a visual feast and an Eden for the botanically inclined.

May in the Oak Openings. Wild Lupine, Lupinus perennis, carpets a sandy knoll in an oak savanna. There are more rare plants in the Oak Openings than any other Ohio ecosystem.

The Snow Trillium, Trillium nivale, are beginning to bloom about the time of the Botanical Symposium, and spring is rushing northward at full tilt by then. The symposium is a wonderful way to get inspired for the coming botanical season.

Go here for registration info, and I hope to see you there.