Even as big weekends go, this is a big weekend. The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory has gone through a complete metamorphosis over the past several weeks, with a dedicated team of horticulturists primping and preening a luxurious display thousands of orchids strong. As of tomorrow, Patrick Blanc’s careful designs will finally come to light for our guests to enjoy.

Beginning tomorrow, March 3, the doors of the tenth annual Orchid Show (yes, an entire decade) swing open to reveal the French master’s creations to the world. Everyone in New York should see this! Visit the Garden to find yourself surrounded by the artful flowers of the tropics, a virtual architecture of exotic leaves, petals, and vines swirling in and amongst each other. The diversity of orchids that now floods the space in sprays of color is impressive on its own, but the arrangement is simply breathtaking.
read more »

Joyce H. Newman is the editor of Consumer Reports’ GreenerChoices.org, and has been a docent with The New York Botanical Garden for the past six years.

Vertical walls of orchids, mosses, and other plants are going up–straight up–for the annual Orchid Show in the Enid A.Haupt Conservatory. Even after ten years, it’s like no other orchid show we have ever seen. Thousands of plants are being suspended on towering, grid-like structures that surround the walkways. We experienced a whole new way of seeing and appreciating the flowers and colors in a kind of woven hanging tapestry. Surely this show will give new meaning to the term “air plants”–a term often applied to orchids and other epiphytes.
read more »

Strange how a hue so ubiquitous in the plant world can have such a striking effect when painted on a flower. The green-yellow chartreuse color seen in this hellebore is so named for its resemblance to the centuries-old liqueur of the same name made by the Carthusian monks of France. Maybe a useless crumb of trivia now, but imagine how many miles you’ll get out of it during pre-dinner aperitifs.

Helleborus x nigercors ‘Honeyhill Joy’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen