Have you been following Plant Talk this week? If you have, you’re already well aware that the skies are criss-crossed with soaring hawks, the daffodils are bobbing alongside the paths, and the NYBG‘s tenth annual Orchid Show is proving every bit the belle of the ball we knew it would be. With or without a few hems and haws from departing winter, a welcome spring is here more than two weeks early.

If you’re looking for escapism, the walkways of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory are a sure bet, ringed as they are with thousands of orchids in nearly every color of the spectrum. Better yet, you can start the day with Debbie Becker’s Saturday Bird Walk, then jump into orchid workshops and lectures of all sorts, with terrarium building in Little Landscapes to occupy the kids; there’s something about holding a miniature world unto itself–all in the palm of your hand–that’s infinitely appealing.
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In looking at the green walls that Patrick Blanc pulls from his imagination, you might regard each one as something similar to a painting. In a way, they are–they rely on careful color choices and shapes to create (in this case) an abstract flow. But depending on the artist you ask, the process of building a green wall can be far more organization-intensive.

Blanc’s Orchid Show creations–as with those he builds around the world–require planning. A lot of planning. Plants must be picked not only for their visual appeal but for the way they mesh with the rest of the leafy things on the wall. Sturdy, light-thirsty plants may need to sit higher up, while shade-loving species fit in lower on the totem pole to ensure each individual can thrive within the miniature ecosystem. There is nothing haphazard about the selections. And once Dr. Blanc has a solid idea of what he wants to fit into a given wall, he must then sketch out a blueprint using finely-delineated sections for each type of plant. This is how the swooping, soft-edged sections of color and texture come about.
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Instagram fans have flocked to this coy but colorful flower. (Thanks, Bergdorf's.)

Of all the flowers coloring the scenery of our Orchid Show, one in particular–technically not even an orchid–is drawing gasps and adoration in spades. Known as Medinilla magnifica to science (and the Showy Medinilla, or “Malaysian orchid” to everyone else), its bowing proliferation of pale pink flower clusters has found a home in botanical gardens throughout the world.

And you can have one at home if it suits you.

Contrary to its bold presentation, the Medinilla isn’t quite as rare or exotic as assumptions would suggest. It’s been raised successfully in conservatories from here to Belgium, where the late King Baudouin championed the flower through the latter half of the 20th century. So infatuated was he with this Southeast Asian native that it was placed on the country’s 10,000 franc note. But as a plant endemic to the small island of Luzon in the Philippines, Medinilla’s distribution in the wild has not proven broad enough to escape the consequences of horticultural fascination. It’s said that the demand of collectors has caused a decline in natural populations to such a degree that many believe the plant now exists only within the plant trade.
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Much ado about the weather this week. Yesterday was a mid-spring day borrowed straight from early May, sending most of our office staff into ecstatic fits. I’m all but convinced one or two of us were out on the grass, belting out celebratory verses from The Sound of Music. Today it’s a bit cooler, of course. But with the warm sun and a promise of picturesque afternoons for Saturday and Sunday, winter seems all but out the door.

The dogwood is blooming, the crocuses are bright, and the Orchid Show is settling into the groove for its second big weekend. This is the perfect opportunity to hop a subway train to the Bronx and treat yourself to Patrick Blanc’s Vertical Gardens. But even if orchids aren’t your thing (a rare condition, albeit understandable), the schedule is packed with activities to suit.
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Ceratostema silvicola (Photo courtesy of Meri Shaffer)

Far south in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, where the sandy flats aren’t struck through with creeks, you’ll find parcels of land dedicated to row upon row of scraggly bush. It’s the antithesis of a tropical landscape; like large-scale agriculture in the midwest, the skies over these tended fields are big and empty, with the occasional conifer contorting itself under and around a telephone wire near the bordering dirt roads. The pine woods sit further off.

In the winter it’s a vacant space save for the blueberry bushes. But these berries have a relative of a more tropical disposition. Perhaps not down in southern Jersey, but here in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, certainly.
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It might not be structurally feasible, but aside from that tiny concern I can’t see why we’re not building everything with explosions of flowers.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG’s Gardener for Public Education.

Last week we were discussing vertical gardens, or “living walls,” a specialty of French botanist Dr. Patrick Blanc. Since we are now in the midst of our spring Orchid Show, today we will explore why orchids are such good candidates for vertical gardening. With somewhere in the area of 70% of all orchids being epiphytic, members of the Orchidaceae family were destined to climb.

Orchids that dangle in the air–sometimes known colloquially as air plants–are classified as epiphytes. Epi- means “on top” and -phyte means “plant”–essentially growing on top of another plant. The relation the epiphyte has with the host is not parasitic (where it is harming the host), nor is it symbiotic/mutualistic (where both parties benefit), but rather commensalistic (where one benefits and the other is neutral). The term commensalism is derived from the Latin meaning “sharing a table.”
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Outside, the chill factor is dawdling somewhere around “I can still see my breath.” Step into the Conservatory, however, and you’ll find yourself closer to the equator. The Orchid Show is our little slice of summer in the tropics.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

With the opening of the Orchid Show comes Orchid Evenings, an opportunity to wander the climbing walls of orchids in all of their after-dark elegance. Drink in hand, music setting the tone, Saturday nights in March and April become the show’s finest hours. But there’s a secret to our cocktails–it’s right out in the open.

Of all the natural flavors in the world, which two best personify indulgence? Chocolate is invariably the first half of the answer. A few weeks ago we covered the tropical origin of that delectable culinary dilettante in the cacao plant. But what of chocolate’s opposite number–vanilla?
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It’s here. The Orchid Show opens today! It’s like a birthday present that’s been sitting in front of you for a month: you know exactly what it is but you can’t actually enjoy it until the big day comes around.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen