Orchid Sale & Symposium at Edison Ford

Orchid Sale and Symposium at Edison and Ford Winter Estates

FORT MYERS, Fla. (September 7, 2022) — On October 1 and 2, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Edison and Ford Winter Estates will hold its annual Orchid Sale and Symposium. The event will take place outdoors, under the oak trees and surrounding areas. Multiple workshops will be offered each day and vendors will have rare and unusual orchids for sale. Orchids also will be available in the Garden Shoppe.

A daily ticket is required to attend the workshops ($20 for Edison Ford members; $25 for non-members); the plant sale portion of the event is free to attend. Tickets do not include tours or admission to the museum, lab or riverside of the property. Guests will also have the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets each day for a chance to win a rare native vanilla orchid.

Workshop Schedule (ticket required each day):
Saturday
9:30-10:30 a.m. Introduction to Orchids; Mickey Carnell
11 a.m. – Noon Benign Neglect; Robert Riefer
1-2 p.m. Orchid Mounting; Debbie Hughes
2:30-3:30 p.m. Growing Orchids from Seed; Jim Davison

Sunday
9:30-10:30 a.m. Growing Orchids in Trees; Debbie Hughes
11 a.m. – Noon Unraveling the Mysteries of Orchid Potting; Stan Grigiski
1-2 p.m. Democratization of Affordable Orchids by Robert Riefer
2:30-3:30 p.m. My Favorite Orchids by John Hampton

A limited number of garden carts will be available; guests are encouraged to bring their own. Food and beverage vendors will be onsite with refreshments available for purchase. Southwest Florida Orchid Society representatives will have information about the society and membership.

Participating vendors including Bello Tropicals, OFE Orchid Supplies, Palmer Orchids, Smiley’s Orchids & Greenery, So Orchids, Sunland Orchids, and Tropiflora will have orchids and orchid supplies for sale. A limited number of garden carts will be available; guests are encouraged to bring their own. Food and beverage vendors will have refreshments available for purchase, and live music will be provided.

The Garden Shoppe offers a unique place for gardeners to shop for quality plants. The Shoppe is stocked with a large selection of ornamentals, orchids, fruit trees, butterfly plants, herbs, succulents, rare exotics and Florida natives. Many of the flowering trees and shrubs in the botanical gardens are available for purchase. Wind chimes, fountains, ceramic flower pots and garden art are also available. A ticket is not required to enter the Garden Shoppe.

Orchids have a long history with the Estates. They were Mina Edison’s favorite plants and she displayed many of them in her garden, attached to trees so they could grow as she saw them in the Everglades. Today, visitors can view many orchid species throughout the 20 acres of botanical gardens. Following in Mina’s footsteps, horticulturists continue to attach orchids to trees all around the site. For additional information, visit EdisonFord.org.

Edison and Ford Winter Estates
Edison and Ford Winter Estates is the internationally known winter home site of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. More than 220,000 visitors walk through the location each year from all around the globe. The organization has received many awards, including the National Stewardship Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Garden Clubs’ Historic Preservation Award. The property is an official project of “Save America’s Treasures,” a Florida Historic Landmark and a National Register Historic Site. The Edison Botanic Laboratory is a National Historic Chemical Landmark. The site is open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and until 9 p.m. during the month of December for Holiday Nights.