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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