Through Jan. 4
Gardenland Express, the Garden's annual holiday flower and train show. G-scale model trains travel through a miniature landscape of live plants, surrounded by colorful poinsettias and flowers. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Garden admission plus $3. Free for members. Learn more.

Jan. 5 through 18
Please note: The Garden’s café, Sassafras, is closed for cleaning. Food is available for purchase from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Terrace Café, located in the Kemper Center for Home Gardening.

Jan. 9 through Mar. 29
"Orchid Portraits," an exhibition of fine art orchid photography by Charles Rowden.

Jan. 12 through 16
Please note: The Garden Gate Shop is closed for inventory and cleaning.

Jan. 14
Members’ Event: History as We Know It – Celebrating 150 Years! Travel back in time with Garden archivist Andrew Colligan and Tower Grove Park director John Karel to explore the Garden’s rich history. 11 a.m. Shoenberg Theater. Free for Garden members and their guests. (314) 577-5118.

Jan. 15
Science Café: “Medicinal Plants,” presented by Dr. Rainer Bussmann, William L. Brown Curator of Economic Botany, William L. Brown Center for Plant Genetic Resources. Plants provide humankind with our most basic resources—food, medicines, fiber, and an array of other useful products. Learn more about plants as the molecular basis of many pharmaceuticals, the blurred distinction between nutrition and medicine, and the plant medicines depended on by much of the world for primary health care. Science Café offers stimulating conversation in an informal setting each month. 7 to 9 p.m. Herbie’s Restaurant, 405 N. Euclid Ave. Free. Presented by the Saint Louis Science Center and the Missouri Botanical Garden. (314) 289-4424 or www.slsc.org.

Jan. 20 through 23
Please note: The Garden Gate Shop is closed for inventory and cleaning.

Jan. 30
Members’ Event: Orchid Show Preview Evening. An exclusive members-only evening viewing of the 2009 Orchid Show, “Henry’s Garden.” Members can also preview the Greater St. Louis Orchid Society plant show and sale. 5 to 8 p.m. Ridgway Visitor Center. Free for Garden members. (314) 577-5118.

Jan. 31 through Feb. 1
Orchid Society of Greater St. Louis show and sale. New cultivars and old favorites are shown and sold by the area’s top growers, who are on hand to give plant care advice and share information about their organization. Beaumont Room, Ridgway Visitor Center. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Included with Garden admission or membership.

Through Jan. 31
“Power of Plants” creative contest. Students from kindergarten through 12th grades are invited to research plants and create a plant superhero. Visit www.mobot.org/power for complete contest information.

Jan. 31 through Mar. 15
Experience the color, beauty, and fragrance of orchids in bloom in the middle of winter. "Henry's Garden" annual orchid show features 800 orchids from one of the world’s premier collections in a formal Victorian setting. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Garden admission plus $3. Free for members.

January through March
Please note: Narrated tram tours, Tower Grove House, and the Doris I. Schnuck Children’s Garden are not available during the winter months. Seasonal operations will resume on April 1.

Click here for hours, admission, directions, and parking information.

Email Web Comments: Rob Thurman