NYBG: Orchid Show-Part One
On Sunday Trent, Jim and I went to the annual Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. The Orchid Show was my first experience at the NYBG last year (I went with my uncle) and having since been to other shows throughout the year —Kiku: Japanese Garden and the Holiday Train Show— I can say that the Orchid Show is definitely the best (not that the others are bad, but orchids are just awesome).
That being said, I think last year's show was better than the current show; it seemed as if there were less flowers this year, which I can't know for sure if there was, but something about it felt more sparse. Maybe it was just that a bit of the novelty has worn off since I recognized a lot of varieties from last year, which is totally understandable. It was still a great escape from the cold, never-ending winter, and we all got in free because I'm a NYBG member.
There is a seemingly infinite variety of orchids on display, from ones that smell like chocolate to ones that look like slippers or giraffes or ladies in ruffled skirts. Jim read that there are orchids you can cook with chicken and that blue is the rarest color. I found myself being especially drawn to the darker varieties — maybe the fact that they're rare makes them feel particularly special. There's always been something about a really dark flower that I love. Flowers are such a happy, beautiful thing that they aren't usually associated with darkness or dark, somber colors. It should come as no surprise that I go to a flower show and end up falling in love with the most morbid ones I can find.
I also really loved the green orchids, once again because green is not generally a flower color. It's actually quite odd to see a green flower and they almost didn't even look real.
The show was a great place to continue playing with my new camera and my 50mm lens was basically made to take a million close-up photos of weird-looking plants, so that's what I spent my time doing. The flowers are so beautiful on their own that I didn't have to try too hard to get a good photo and each one was so different that I couldn't help myself from trying to capture them all.
Becoming a member of the NYBG was one of the best investments I've made and I've gotten more than my money's worth just a few months into my year membership. Although it's currently fucking-freezing degrees outside (this is an exact measurement of temperature now) the orchid show was a wonderful taste of spring — even if we may never again get to experience actual spring in New York.
