Enjoy dazzling orchids this weekend at the Lyman Estate

If you covet an orchid, visit the Lyman Estate Greenhouses this weekend, where dozens of varieties, including rare ones, are in bloom and for sale. The spectacle alone is worth the visit, and sale proceeds help support the historic greenhouses, among the oldest in the nation.

Orchid obsession reached a frenzy in the early 1800s, not long after Theodore Lyman, a Boston merchant in the East India and China trades, acquired 30 acres in Waltham in 1793 and began building an estate. Collectors combed the globe for the exotic plants, beloved for their dazzling variety of shapes, colors, patterns, scents and growing habits.

At the Lyman Estate Greenhouses, varieties on display and for sale include Cattleyas, Laelias, Oncidiums, Paphiopedilums, Phalaenopsis and many more. Staff are on hand to offer expert advice and service.

In addition to plants, the greenhouse shop offers orchid-growing supplies, pottery, gardening books, fertilizers, notecards and garden gifts.

The sale runs this Friday through Sunday, April 11 to 13, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lyman Estate Greenhouses, 185 Lyman St., Waltham.