The popular WNC Orchid Society’s Annual Show opens from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., March 31 and continues through April 1 at the N.C. Arboretum.

Thousands of orchids fill the education center of the arboretum in this show, which is one of the largest in the Southeast. This year’s theme, “The Secret Garden of Orchids,” has been billed as an “adventure of the imagination.”

World-class orchid growers from around the country and regional orchid societies will fill the exhibition hall with dazzling color, exotic scents, and hints of faraway lands in carefully crafted displays.

Vendors will offer orchid supplies and plants for purchase, including the rare and hard-to-find. WNC Orchid Society members will be available to answer questions and provide orchid-growing advice, and educational programs will be offered throughout the weekend.

Programs also are scheduled, ranging from information on certain types of orchids to how not to kill your beloved flowers.   

Shows and events are free for Arboretum Society members or are included with the standard parking fee of $8 per personal motor vehicle.

828.665.2492 or www.ncarboretum.org.