Spotlight | 2024 New York Botanical Garden Orchid Show

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Welcome to Broadway Stages’ Spotlight, where we feature local shops, restaurants, organizations, individuals, and venues. We encourage our readers to support these establishments and advance local economic growth. For Earth Month, we are shining the spotlight on a few of the environmentally oriented people, businesses, and organizations in the neighborhoods where we work. This week, we present the New York Botanical Garden’s 2024 Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion.

Located on 250 acres in the Bronx, the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) has been an advocate for the plant world since 1891. This National Historic Landmark is a museum of living plant collections arranged in gardens and landscapes. NYBG acts as stewards of globally significant research collections, from the LuEsther T. Mertz Library collection to the plant and fungal specimens in the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium (the most extensive such collection in the Western Hemisphere).

In addition to being a living museum, it also hosts immersive botanical experiences and events with some of the most influential figures in plant and fungal science, horticulture, and the humanities. One of these occasions is the annual Orchid Show. This year’s theme is Florals in Fashion. The show is going on now through April 21 at the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.

On display will be picture-perfect floral designs from fashionistas such as:

  • Collina Strada - A platform for social issues and awareness created by Hillary Taymour

  • Dauphinette - One-of-a-kind, Made-in-New-York outwear from recycled and byproduct fur and leather, vintage, and artisanal components by Olivia Cheng

  • FLWR PSTL - Described as “If Edward Scissorhands and Willy Wonka had a flower baby….with a splash of Bob Ross” by Kristen Alpaugh

Florals are always en vogue at NYBG, but this is a great chance to combine your love for orchids and your fashion-forward connections to the natural world.

In addition to the spectacular visuals, the show is an occasion to explore and learn about one of nature’s most stunning creations, the orchid. Several programs will be available during the show.

Flowers are often prized for their aromas. Scents of chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, and, of course, orchid fill the air of the conservatory. But you will be able to feast all five of your senses to identify fashion-focused items at the Sensory Table (12 - 4 p.m.; weekends through April 21).

Or, learn how orchid specimens are collected, preserved, mounted, and categorized with Nicole Tarnowsky, Assistant Director of the Herbarium at NYBG. At Orchids of the Herbarium (12 - 4 p.m.; April 6 and 21), you can view specimens and swatches knitted from various plant-based yarns, enjoy a mounting demonstration, and try your hand at creating a specimen to take home with you.

For more information about orchids, you can Meet the Orchid Experts (12 - 4 p.m. April 7, 13, 14, and 20).  Renee Dillon, Christopher Elliot, Sergio Guzman, Daniela Perez, Jessica Savage, Mike Wronski, and Jeffrey Ye of the NYBG Horticulture Staff will be available to answer questions about the orchid collection and learn how these flowering plants were cultivated, cared for, planted, and designed.

Finally, visit the NYBG Shop to have all your orchid care questions answered by orchid-expert NYBG Volunteers in Orchid Basics Q&A (2 - 5 p.m.; Wednesdays and weekends through April 21). Experts will be there to give you tips for selecting the right one for your home and how to successfully grow, rescue, and care for these exotic plants.

Skip the lines and get your tickets online now. This show is not one to miss!