SARASOTA — Enter the Tropical Conservatory at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and you’re immediately greeted by a living wall of purple, gold and white orchids set among lush greenery, while the twinkling notes of 1920s jazz music sets a celebratory mood.
It’s a fitting entrance for the “45th Anniversary Orchid Show: Women Breaking the Glasshouse Ceiling,” which celebrates a number of occasions.
This year is the 100th anniversary of William and Marie Selby’s purchase of the land where the gardens opened 45 years ago. It’s also the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
The living wall at the entrance is a nod to the women’s suffragette movement, using the colors of both the British and American groups — purple, gold, white and green.