“The Orchid Show: Natural Heritage” at the New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York, continues through April 23, 2023.

The 20th annual Orchid Show, designed by landscape artist Lily Kwong, features immersive installations of thousands of orchids that transport guests to ethereal, reverent landscapes inspired by ancient Chinese garden design and artistic principles, and complementary programming that enriches visitors’ engagement and enjoyment of these beautiful and formidable flowers. Tickets are available online.

Check out this video with Lily Kwong:

Wednesday and weekend daytime visits to the exhibition offer an assortment of activities, including question-and-answer sessions with orchid experts and multi-sensory experiences. On six select Saturdays, Orchid Nights present evening viewing, music, performances, calligraphy workshops, and cocktails and light bites available for purchase. The Orchid Show runs through April 23, 2023.

The Orchid Expert Is In

Every Saturday plus April 23, 2023, from noon through 4 p.m. in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory learn about The New York Botanical Garden’s renowned orchid collection from NYBG Horticulture staff. These drop-in sessions provide opportunities to meet the stewards behind the orchid collection and learn how these flowering plants are cared for and cultivated.

Orchid Basics Q&A

Orchid Basics are covered from 1 to 4 p.m. weekends and Wednesdays in the NYBG Shop. Questions will be answered by NYBG volunteers who are orchid experts in their own right. As you browse the Shop’s selection of orchids, they will be available to provide tips on selecting the right one for your home and how to successfully grow and care for these exotic plants.

The Orchid Outpost

On the weekends from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. there will be a a rotating selection of orchid-related activities presented by NYBG staff and volunteers in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, including:

• Color Our Collections
  Orchids may be found in a variety of colors from pinks, whites, reds, greens, and even shades of purples and blues. Pick up a postcard and color an orchid using the exhibition as your inspiration. After you’ve left the Botanical Garden, mail your creation to someone you love or add it as a decoration to your home.
• Fragrant Fun: Sensory Table
  Join an NYBG volunteer in exploring plants and their products found in the Haupt Conservatory through this table-top multi-sensory experience.

The Orchids of the Herbarium

Learn how orchid specimens are collected, preserved, mounted, and categorized with team members from NYBG’s William and Lynda Steere Herbarium March 18, 19, 25, and 26, 2023. Admire the display of specimens, view a mounting demonstration, and try your hand at creating a specimen to take home.

Orchid Nights

On select evenings during The Orchid Show: Natural Heritage, adults 21 and over can experience the exhibition through Orchid Nights, with music, cash bars, and food available for purchase. Hours are 7 to 10 p.m. March 18 and 25, April 1, 8, 15, and 22, 2023.

Live from the Garden: Bloom Thru by ADÀI

At 7, 8, and 9 p.m. on Conservatory Plaza, musician ADÀI invites you into the bright and bold world of “The Orchid Show: Natural Heritage” with a mix of high-energy, contemporary beats, vocals, and instrumentals. Featuring singer/DJ ADÀI, with musicians and dancers, Bloom Thru is a 45-minute stage show told in three acts, beginning with traditional tunes blended with modern, Asian-fusion electronic dance music. ADÀI is an ElectroPop producer, DJ, singer, and songwriter performing in New York City and Beijing.

Cocktails & Calligraphy

Join an artist from the New York Chinese Cultural Center in the Pine Tree Café Tent for a hands-on Chinese calligraphy and ink brush painting workshop, featuring Chinese characters inspired by “The Orchid Show: Natural Heritage”. Founded in 1974, the New York Chinese Cultural Center, a non-profit cultural and educational institution, is dedicated to deepening the understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture through the arts in the global and local communities.

About The New York Botanical Garden

Founded in 1891, The New York Botanical Garden is the most comprehensive botanical garden in the world and an integral part of the cultural fabric of New York City, anchored in the Bronx. The 250-acre verdant landscape, which includes a 50-acre, old-growth forest and the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory support living collections of more than one million plants. Unparalleled resources are also held in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library, the world’s most important botanical and horticultural library with 11 million archival items spanning ten centuries, and William and Lynda Steere Herbarium, the largest in the Western Hemisphere with 7.8 million plant and fungal specimens. Committed to protecting the planet’s biodiversity and natural resources, Garden scientists work on-site in cutting-edge molecular labs and in areas worldwide where biodiversity is most at risk.

(Photos and video courtesy of the New York Botanic Garden)