Tuesday, March 31, 2020


Before the world became consumed by everything related to Covid-19, I simply used to enjoy the beautiful flowers out and about in London.

During February and half of March, Kew Gardens in London hosted its annual Orchids Festival. The 25th annual orchid festival featured the incredible wildlife and vibrant culture of Indonesia – an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, including Java, Borneo, Papua and Bali. The festival showcased Indonesia’s diverse landscape from tropical rainforests to spectacular volcanos, which was the main focus in the central pond area. Here, the garden staff had created a volcano with orchids!

Did you know that Indonesia has at least 4,000 species of orchids, as well as many other plants that can be found only on certain islands in the archipelago? We’ve only visited Bali so far, but I would love see more of this beautiful country?

Every year, the Orchids Festival at Kew Gardens never fails to impress me. The displays are filled with such vibrant orchids as you can see from my photos. 

Blue Orchids

Although these Phalaenopsis orchids were dyed blue, there really are rare blue orchids in Indonesia. In 1938, British entomologist Evelyn Cheesman collected samples of the extremely rare blue orchid Dendrobium azureum. In 2017, a local Indonesian conservationist discovered examples of this rare species out in the wild.

Z Orchids
Zygopetalum orchids have small blooms and only consist of 15 recognized species. The blooms usually are green and brown striped or speckled and have a velvety lip. They are quite unique!

Pitcher Plants
Bizarre pitcher plants, a type of carnivorous plants, made a good showing at the festival as well. The bulb part of the plants trap the bugs that the plants feed on.

A cute orangutan made from plants amongst the orchids.
Who knew that orchids bloom in nearly every shade of the rainbow and beyond?

Hope you enjoy the orchid photo show!
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