Garden party
An opulent homage to Thailand turns the 15th annual Orchid Show into an earthly delight
PATCHES of bright snow remind you that we are still in the depths of winter, but inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden, spring is in season, and maybe even summer. The 15th annual Orchid Show is a valentine to Thailand, the world’s largest exporter of tropical orchids and home to more than 1,200 species of the plant. Rather than hit you over the head with these kind of statistics, exhibition designer Christian Primeau has fashioned a whimsical floral seduction, marked at the entrance by a pair of topiary elephants that stand in the circular Palms of the World gallery. The green elephants with curling trunks are festooned with dendrobium orchids in tight clusters of yellow, pink and purple. The exhibition, which took nine months to put together, including the monthlong installation, also features objects found in everyday Thai gardens. Dangling from the trees over the conservatory’s walkway are sky lanterns,
called khom loi. These marvelous white cotton-and-bamboo creations are imprinted with gold-foil elephants, a revered animal in Thai culture, and can hold a lit candle. As the lanterns burn, it is believed they carry away bad luck and bring good fortune.
The Thai people interact with the spirit world on an everyday basis, as evidenced by the spirit houses that stand in the center of the conservatory. They are often erected when people start construction on a house — even public buildings have at least one spirit house.
At the Botanical Garden, they are made of teak — hand-carved by Thai artist Pirot Gitikoon — and display offerings for the guardian spirits, such as flowers, incense, candles and orchids cupped in green jade. Tiny wooden ladders are provided for the spirits to travel up from the ground to the houses. Best of all, cans of strawberry Fanta await them (that flavor was chosen because red is a lucky color in Thai culture), with straws for easier drinking.
Karen Daubmann, associate vice president of exhibitions, admits to tasting the strawberry soda. “It tastes like Robitussin,” she says, laughing.
With such charming cultural elements tucked away among the blossoms, the flowers seem even more exotic. You can find Vanda orchid plants for sale at Trader Joe’s, but the conservatory lets you get close to sublime varieties such as the Cattleya, or wrist-corsage, orchid; the lemon drop, whose delicate blossoms are fan-shaped like a gingko tree leaf; the miniature yellow-and-purple “dancing ladies” orchid; and the exquisite slipper orchid, which has a cloglike appearance.
Since orchids bloom in environments as disparate as woodlands, bogs and mountain meadows, there are many ways to display them in the conservatory. Vanda orchids adorn thick moss-covered silos. Others float on water in large ceramic jars that are placed near the entrance to people’s homes in Thailand so that visitors can wash their faces and hands in the sticky weather. Bushes of orchids, tiny pineapple plants and another topiary elephant stand in front of the conservatory’s centerpiece, a sala, or traditional pavilion used for shade and relaxation. Featuring a steep gabled roof that would ordinarily be made of teak or mahogany, it is crowned by an ornament resembling a bird.
To make the exhibition more accessible, the Botanical Garden is hosting Orchid Evenings from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Saturdays, from March 4 through April 8. The Washington, DC-based Somapa Thai Dance Co. will perform a program called “Magical Thailand,” a series of classical and folk dances, on weekends at 1 and 3 p.m. from March 4 through April 9. For the truly inspired orchid lover, experts will offer classes on the care of these gorgeous plants on weekends at 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. in the Conservatory GreenSchool.