orchids

Theatre Of Horticulture: The Orchid Show Opens at the New York Botanical Garden

Filed under: Events

New York Botanical Garden

The nation's largest and only curated orchid exhibition opened on Saturday, March 5th at the New York Botanical Garden, showcasing more than 5,000 orchid plants in a Broadway-style setting. "The Orchid Show: On Broadway" runs through April 25 and features more than 300 species and hybrid orchids from around the world.

For the first time, the setting of the exhibition is designed as a Broadway theater, in order to present the compelling nature of orchids, that includes an orchid stage, highlighting the astonishing variety of these plants in all colors, shapes and sizes.

"It is exciting to me to design this space in a theatrical way. The flowers are like actors on the stage. I provide the framework for the beauty of them," said the garden's Tony award-winning scenic designer Scott Pask. He and image maker Drew Hodges showcased thousands of orchids with theater-inspired set pieces at the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. There, the proscenium arch of the Walter Kerr Theater and the promenade of the New Amsterdam Theater have been re-created. It is a rare display of the theater of horticulture, starring the divas of the plant world.

The question is, after knowing something about orchids and their cultivation, having actually seen some in the Amazon wild, and some in my mother's wild backyard, what is it about orchids that create passion? Why indeed are they often called the Divas of the plant world? Possible answers emerge if their history is contemplated. The earliest known orchids were from the Mediterranean region, and were named Orchis -- a reference to the Greek word for testicle, because of the flower's twin oval tubers. These and other orchids have been considered useful in medicine, but the only orchid of Epicurean value is Vanilla planifolia, the source of vanilla flavoring. This orchid was used by the Aztecs and became known in Europe shortly after the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

Tags: Cattleya orchids, Dendrobium Orchids, Drew Hodges, New York Botanical Garden, New York Botanical Garden Orchid Exhibition, Orchid History, orchids, Scott Pask, The Orchid Show:On Broadway, Vanilla orchids

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H.Bloom Launches Weekly Flower Service in Manhattan

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Services, Art

In search of the perfect gift to celebrate a birthday, Mother's Day or another special occasion? Look no further than H.BLOOM, an online floral company based in Manhattan which offers a weekly subscription service.

"We heard over and over from people who love flowers, that they can't afford expensive arrangements on a regular basis," says Bryan Burkhart, the 35-year-old co-founder of H.Bloom. "It is also a great gift because it is the gift that keeps on giving."

Gallery: More from H. Bloom

Burkhart and co-founder Sonu Panda, who met as undergraduates at the University of Pennsylvania, launched the business after noticing there was a need for a premium floral product available online. "We saw that there was no 'Barney's of flowers' online---there was only K-Mart," says Burkhart. Their business model is much like that of Netflix, as there is no long term commitment. It is easy to pause the service or direct the delivery to someone else.

Tags: Florist, Flowers, H.Bloom, Manhattan, New York, OnlineShopping, orchids

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Banchet Black Magic Bouquet

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Perhaps your Valentine is the Gothic type, a bit more Marilyn Manson than Marilyn Monroe. For your dark darling, this bouquet from Banchet flowers might be the ultimate. It's called the Black Magic and it contains Phalaenopsis orchids, calla lilies, amaryllis, all in appropriately shadowy tones. The bouquet is almost four feet tall in its high gloss black vase. This striking display of floral gloom will run you $1500.

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Tags: banchet, black flowers, orchids, valentines day flowers

The $1200 Bouquet

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

DId you perhaps forget to send flowers on Valentine's Day? If you did or perhaps messed up in some other way, this bouquet from Beautiful Orchids guarantees that your money is where your mouth is. The bouquet of 12 perfect stems of freshly cut White Phalaenopsis orchids with crimson red lips are arranged in a Tiffany Jade Blue vase. The package comes in two separate boxes. Each flower stem has four to eight blooms and has an individual water vial. The vase is in a separately wrapped blue box and it sells for $1,200.

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Tags: bouquets, flowers, orchids, tiffany, vase