By Ellen Gilbert 

Inspirational, coveted, and, let’s face it, kind of crazy-making, orchids have a reputation for inspiring passionate feelings. “The nursery owner petted each plant as we passed,” reports author Susan Orlean in her book The Orchid Thief. She herself makes it a point to never own an orchid, lest she fall prey to the proprietary orchid madness she is observing all around her.

This effusiveness is probably nowhere more evident than at the New York Botanical Garden’s (NYBG) annual Orchid Show. The theme of this year’s show is “Key West Contemporary,” and it will run from March 1 through April 24, 2014.

The Orchid Show is the largest exhibition of its kind in the United States, and NYBG employees and volunteers pull out all the stops for it. “We work on planning the exhibitions years in advance, particularly in creating the theme, securing designers, and creating designs for the set pieces,” says Karen Daubmann, the Garden’s associate vice president of exhibitions and public engagement. “A team of roughly 20 gardeners spends several weeks preparing orchids, and planting them among the sets in the conservatory.”

The epicenter of the Orchid Show is the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, considered by many to be a “must see” landmark destination all year round. The Victorian-style glasshouse opened in 1902, and serves as home for a permanent exhibition, “A World of Plants,” where visitors can embark on an “‘ecotour’ around the world and across the ages.” The Conservatory also hosts the Garden's seasonal flower shows and exhibitions, including the Orchid Show and Holiday Train Show that immediately precedes it.

The educational mission of the NYBG shines through at the Orchid Show. Gardener for Public Education Sonia Uyterhoeven is typically on hand offering orchid care demonstrations on weekends at 2 and 3 p.m. A wealth of orchid (and other botanical) information is available online, along with good old-fashioned printed hand-outs, like the one devoted to America’s favorite orchid Phalaenopsis, a.k.a. “Moth Orchid.” The highly informative sheet includes the plant’s “Cultural Requirements,” with instructions for optimizing light, temperature, water humidity, and air (“ventilation is important to keep Phalaenopsis thriving”).

On selected days during the Orchid Show, the celebration continues after dark, when cocktails and music add to the already magical scene.

A YEAR-ROUND DESTINATION

While orchid-worship at the NYBG is particularly frenzied during the annual show, it should be noted that these “seductive stars of tropical plant collections,” hailing from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Americas, can be seen in changing displays all year long in the Conservatory and in the Orchid Terrarium in the Library Building.

To be sure, there are many ways to enjoy the NYBG throughout the year. Its 250 acres is home to 50 acres of native forest; indoor rain forests and deserts; and 50 different kinds of gardens, including the award-winning Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden. Regularly scheduled narrated tram tours are available, along with programs that focus on in-season garden highlights. Children are welcome to get their hands dirty and grow their own vegetables and flowers in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, and the Everett Adventure Garden encourages exploration in a world of mazes. Cafés provide on-the-go sustenance and a dining pavilion offers more leisurely dining.

The LuEsther T. Mertz Library, which includes a lab for conserving and preserving older printed materials, is a world-class institution. It houses over one million accessioned items (books, journals, original art and illustration, seed and nursery catalogs, architectural plans of glass houses, scientific reprints, and photographs) and over 4,800 linear feet of archival materials.It is rich in both scholarly and general plant information, offering a wide array of print and electronic resources. Informed staff members are available to anyone visiting the Library through the Internet or in person.

"POLISHED BY NATURE"

For tried-and-true enthusiasts, orchids eclipse any other plant even when they aren’t flowering. They look “as if they had been waxed and polished by nature,” says writer Henry Jaworski. “Their thick, white roots, with the most delicately green tips imaginable, crawled over the outside of the pots and wooden baskets in which the plants grew,” he recalls of a particular sighting. “They were infinitely more exciting than a mere soil-growing plant.”

This year’s show is the NYBG’s twelfth. “We find that our visitors are anxious for spring and appreciate an indoor venue that makes them feel transported to distant, tropical lands,” explains Daubmann. “Late winter/ early spring is a natural bloom time for the orchids and there is great curiosity about them.”

Visitors entering this year’s exhibition “will be transported to a tropical paradise,” promises NYBG Public Relations Director Gayle Snible. “Key West Contemporary” may call to mind the Garden’s 2009 orchid show, “Brazilian Modern,” which was also designed by the Miami-based firm Raymond Jungles. “We were inspired by the work of Raymond Jungles and in particular some of the projects that he has worked on in Key West,” said Daubmann. “Waterfalls, pools, colorful textured walls, and trellises will all play a part.”

HURRICANE SANDY

While exoticism seems to be the order of the day when it comes to orchids, environmental sensibilities are present too; last year’s show included Hurricane Sandy storm-damaged trees from the Garden’s grounds that were incorporated into the show as a design element and evidence of the fact that orchids also grow in the wild.

As noted by Susan Orlean, orchid-worship is often accompanied by a certain wariness about owning them. “I decided that orchid people are too crazy,” says John Laroche, the main character of The Orchid Thief (which is subtitled “A True Story of Beauty and Obsession” and was made into a movie starring Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper.) “They come here and buy an orchid and they kill it. I can’t stand it. Fern people are almost worse, but the orchid people are too—oh, you know.”

“Orchids have gotten a reputation for being divas,” confirms Ann Rafalko in a NYBG “Garden Tips” posting. Prospective buyers should not be daunted, though. “Go for it,” Rafalko says, noting that staff at the well-stocked NYBG shop includes orchid experts to help you make an informed purchase. “Choose the right one for your home environment and you’ll have a beautiful plant that can last for years with new blooms every year.” For those who can’t make it in person, NYBG staffers provide weekly columns on orchid care, and there’s even a video on how to re-pot orchids at home.

The Orchid family, Orchidacae, is one of the largest of all flowering plant families that grow in many different habitats. It is estimated that since the mid-1800s more than 100,000 orchid cultivars (variations) have been developed and orchids can be found to suit almost any growing conditions. A particular favorite among new growers is the “Lady Slipper.” Some orchids are no bigger than a thumbnail, while others are the size of a hand. Some mimic bees and butterflies, while others resemble a lady's slipper. “Some simply defy description,” says one appreciative owner.

When is the best time to visit the Orchid Show? “If someone were looking to come to take pictures they might enjoy the morning light,” suggests Daubmann. “If someone were coming to socialize with a beautiful backdrop and a cocktail in hand, they might enjoy an Orchid Evening.”

The orchids are replaced on a daily basis, if needed, “so the show looks spectacular from the day it opens until the day it closes,” she adds. “If people want to come back again and again, they will notice changes in the types of orchids displayed as well as the color palettes.

You don’t need a special time to visit, though. As Daubmann points out, “most of our visitors come to escape a gloomy, gray winter and that is possible any day.”

The New York Botanical Gardens is open Tuesday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., in addition to some scheduled evening hours and special events. It is located at 2900 Southern Boulevard, New York, NY 10458. For general information call (718) 817-8700.

Upcoming shows at the NYBG include “Antiques for the Garden and the Garden Room”, April 26 to 28; and “Groundbreakers: Great American Gardens Cymbidium orchids are prized for their long-lasting sprays of flowers, used especially as cut flowers or for corsages in the spring. & The Women Who Designed Them,” May 17 to September 7.