Archive for the 'Misc' Category

Orchidelirium: The Victorian Madness for Orchids at Any Price

Friday, April 28th, 2023

Victorian England was obsessed with orchids. The trend was called Orchidelirium, like Dutch Tulip mania centuries before. Fortunes were made and lost, and tropical rainforests were deliberately stripped bare to ship plants to Britain. Many orchid hunters died in the process, and most of the orchids died, too. The few surviving plants which made it […]

How to Build an Orchid

Wednesday, February 8th, 2023

You can build orchids … with Legos! The beloved children’s toys aren’t just for kids anymore. All sorts of great designs are available, even Moth Orchids. They’ve become fun home and office decorations, often popping up in the backgrounds of Zoom calls. In addition to orchids, botanical models include bonsais, succulents, and floral bouquets, all […]

Have a Terrific Adventure with Orchids in the Wild Ecotours

Sunday, January 15th, 2023

Take a mind-blowing vacation and help endangered orchids at the same time! The Orchid Conservation Alliance (OCA) offers Orchids in the Wild Ecotours, expert-led trips to see orchids in their native homes. They range as far away as Madagascar, and as close as Ohio. This year’s itinerary also includes Italy, Brazil, and South Africa. The […]

Lots of Hard Work Goes into Orchid Awards

Sunday, January 8th, 2023

Lots of hard work goes into winning orchid awards. Growers spend long hours mastering plant care in order to coax out exceptional blooms. Orchid judges spend years studying and training to find and evaluate those perfect flowers. It’s challenging work. These photos spotlight winners at recent shows. The first row of pictures above features an […]

Great Orchid Gifts for Kids

Wednesday, December 7th, 2022

Kids will get stuck on orchids with the American Orchid Society’s (AOS) engaging gifts for children. The Stuck on Orchids sticker book includes stickers, basic info, and opportunities for coloring. It covers seven of the most common orchid varieties. The Orchid Nonsense Coloring Book features over 40 designs of orchids, animals, and characters, ready for […]

Spots, Stripes, Swirls, and Splotches: Orchids with Variegated Leaves

Thursday, October 27th, 2022

Variegated plants are in vogue these days, just like they have been many times throughout history. Centuries before Instagram made them the latest fad, orchid lovers in East Asia noticed leaf color variations in Cymbidiums and Samurai Orchids, and began cultivating them. Of course, many plant varieties besides orchids have colorful leaves, too. Gardens around […]

The Pollinator’s Guide to Orchids

Monday, June 27th, 2022

Did you know that birds can’t smell sweet scents, so orchids instead use bright reds, oranges, yellows, or purples to attract them? The brilliant minds of Smithsonian Gardens have made a great resource about orchid pollination. The charming webpage explains how birds, moths, butterflies, bees, wasps, and flies fertilize flowers. It also includes beautiful photos, […]

Hidden Stories of Groundbreaking Women: Orchid Illustrators

Sunday, March 27th, 2022

Botanical illustration is both an art and a science. It emphasizes scientific accuracy, but also captures the magic of plants. The Smithsonian video below highlights three important women who were botanical illustrators. They painted precise details of orchid blooms, but often didn’t receive credit or professional respect. Sarah Drake, Blanche Ames, and Regina Olson Hughes […]

Hunt for Orchids at the Huntington

Tuesday, January 25th, 2022

In San Marino, California, the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens house over 10,000 orchids. It’s one of the largest and most diverse collections in the world, and just one reason why it’s worth visiting the Huntington. However, if you can’t visit in person, you can take a virtual tour of the Huntington’s orchids. […]

Extraordinary Catasetum Orchids

Tuesday, September 28th, 2021

In Defense of Plants explains why Catasetum orchids really stand out. They have fascinating flowers, but unlike most orchids, these beauties have different male and female blooms. This puzzled botanists long ago, who thought that they were separate species. It was the famous scientist Charles Darwin who finally resolved the confusion. Darwin studied how the […]