PLANT IT
2 chances to ogle orchids without dying in a jungle
February 6, 2010
Sonia Day
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Cattleya orchids; Orchidaceae
Remember Cattleyas? They're the orchids that our grandmothers used to wear as corsages. The practice seems hopelessly old fashioned nowadays, but back in the l950s, a cattleya (pronounced cat-LAY-er) pinned on a posh outfit was considered very glam.
And rightly so, because they're spectacular flowers, like so many kinds of orchids. Peering at their fascinating shapes, I can understand why plant explorers tramped through tropical jungles, dying from dreadful diseases, abandoning their families back home, in a feverish search for new ones. Perhaps more than any other type of plant, orchids can be beautiful, bewitching, definitely erotic (perhaps that's why they got affixed to so many lapels), even creepy-looking and ugly – or a combination of those qualities. But they never fail to fascinate.
Last spring, I was thrilled to discover a crop of lady slipper orchids, Cypripedium, a native North American species, growing wild on my property in southwestern Ontario. They're the kind with those funny yellow bulbous pouches hanging down underneath.
Will they return this coming spring? My fingers are crossed. But in the meantime, two opportunities are coming up to ogle the tropical orchids that those intrepid explorers risked their necks to find.
The Southern Ontario Orchid Society holds its annual Valentine's Day Weekend show Feb. 13 and 14 at the Toronto Botanical Garden. It's open to the public 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission: $10. www.soos.ca
Then on Feb. 27 and 28, it's the turn of the Royal Botanical Gardens Orchid Society in Burlington to put Paphiopedilum, Dendrobium, Cymbidium and the like on parade. Open: noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. www.osrbg.ca
If the only orchid you've ever encountered is a Phalaenopsis (now even sold in supermarkets and becoming a bit ho-hum), don't miss these shows. They're a wonderful sight in the middle of winter.
www.soniaday.com
Toronto Star