You used to be able to just turn up at Kew Gardens and expect to get into the annual Orchid Festival. This is no longer the case. Although free for members, the slots fill up quickly, especially over the weekend. So I booked this year.
We arrived in good time. There was a large queue for the 3.30pm slot. The Princess of Wales Conservatory, which houses the exhibition, is big.
Once inside, we joined lots of people. For a while the group snaked slowly around the conservatory. Eventually gaps started appearing and we had more freedom to linger and explore the orchids and other permanent plants.
There’s something magical about orchids even though they can be found in many countries around the world.
I no longer have an orchid plant. My last plant died when I was on one of my trips. Someone forgot to water it. The gardener, who looked after the office plants at my last workplace, gave me some advice. I had once thought that once the orchids drop off the plant was dead! He advised me to cut any stem to its base once all its flowers drop off. Apart from watering, the plant’s transparent container needs plenty of light. I used to put the transparent container in a more decorative (and non-transparent!) plant pot. Once I followed his advice, I regularly got new orchids budding.
This year, the festival had a Chinese theme. There were some dazzling large floral installations.
China, being one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, provided many of the orchids. The more delicate ones were protected in a glass cabinet. This was just as well. I saw this enthusiastic (and loud) person telling her companion about one of the plants. As she reached out, she accidentally pulled off a flower!
The addition this year of plant sculptures, sometimes in the form of animals, added to the festival. The dragon, in particular, was spectacular.
