Honestly, who doesn’t love orchids?  Yesterday, I traded my daily lunch break run around the national mall for a trip to the National Botanic Garden, just on the other side of the capitol building from my office.  Reason being, I had never been there, and my new Nikon D80 arrived at my front door the previous evening.  Yes — I upgraded cameras.  No more blurry photos, and hopefully I’ll be featured on foodgawker or tastespotting in the future!

Anyway, the gardens were featuring an orchid exhibit, which always reminded me of my grandmother’s garden.  She manages to care for pots among pots of orchids in the Los Angeles heat — how she does it is beyond my comprehension.  My measly basil plant is suffering.  The exhibit was breathtaking, though.  Please enjoy the photos!  I’ve been a little busy for my normal pastry art lately because, lo and behold, spring has broken here in Washington.  The daffodils and tulips haven’t bloomed yet, but I see their stems coming up in the gardens around Dupont.  I cannot wait — tulips are one of my two favorite flowers, and they don’t grow naturally where I’m from.  Los Angeles doesn’t have a real spring, where certain plants bloom after a period of frost.  The weather is just constantly warm in comparison to anomalies like “snowmygod,” so tulips are a special treat for me this year.