NYBG Brings Singapore to the Bronx

Walking into the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory the first thing you notice is the heat. But once you step through the double doors leading into the exhibit what you see will completely erase the heat from your mind. By Shanese Mullins

The New York Botanical Garden is hosting the 17th Annual Orchid Show until April 28 This year’s theme is Singapore, where the orchid is the national flower.

The hallway is filled with hundreds of colorful, beautiful orchids and is nothing short of breathtaking.

The NYBG used arches from the National Orchid Garden at the Singapore Botanic Garden to make visitors feel up close and personal to as many flowers as possible, says Karen Daubmann, NYBG’s associate vice president for exhibitions and public engagement.

“We also created a new pathway so that visitors could get up close to a super tree,” said Daubmann.

The exhibition showcases many types of orchids - colorful, fragrant, large and small, those that hang from trees and those that are planted in the ground.  

Kimberley Davis, a Bronx native, says she comes every year. “I plan my day around it so I can spend my time just walking around and looking. I don’t know much about flowers, but these are beautiful.”

With thousands of orchids in hundreds of styles, shapes, sizes and colors it is easy to get lost in the magic and forgot that work goes into getting them just right.

A lot goes into putting the show together, aside from picking a theme, which is different each year, and coming up with the elements to with set designers.

While some of the orchids are grown in-house, others come from plant nurseries around the United States, such as California, Florida and Hawaii.

The exhibit is meticulously groomed and staff change out orchids when needed, replacing some when the show is closed.

It takes about a month to remove the Holiday Train Show that occupies the same space and replace it with the Orchid Show.

It is not just a day event. On many nights NYBG hosts Orchid Evenings, where people can go see the orchids at night and enjoy programs that are centered around the theme of Singapore.

While this year’s event is still ongoing, next year’s is already in production. The NYBG have already come with a theme, a layout and dates, but it’s a secret. We’ll just have to wait and see.