The Orchid Show After Dark, Where Green Thumbs and Plant Killers Mingle
The New York Times
After hours, the New York Botanical Garden becomes the lushest bar in town.
It was Saturday night in the Bronx, and as a lively, colorful crowd sipped vodka cocktails underneath dramatic palm fronds, the word people kept whispering was “phalaenopsis.”
That’s a moth orchid, for the uninitiated, one of the most widely grown varieties in the world. Not to be confused with the dendrobium (cane orchid) or paphiopedilum (slipper orchid), all of which were on display at the New York Botanical Garden’s annual Orchid Show.
The exhibition drew all sorts of New Yorkers, including those with a gift for cultivating plants and those who tend to kill them. Many had clearly been inspired by flowers when getting dressed, and wore floral patterns, hues of rose and violet, and faux blossoms.
“Florals in Fashion” is the theme for this year’s extraordinary display, which is part horticultural spectacle and part fashion show, and runs until April 21. In addition to orchids from around the world, there are elaborate ensembles that three fashion designers created using plant life.
On Friday and Saturday evenings, the garden’s glass-domed conservatory adds music and cocktails.
Danielle Leong, 37, was wrapped in a lilac tulle jacket and a shimmering lilac skirt. A wide-brimmed hat festooned with blooms sat atop her head.
