Sneak Peek: NYBG Orchid Show by Lily Kwong is a Sensual, Meditative, Biophilia Fantasy

 

As an old advertisement once crowed in its attempt to target women, “You’ve come a long way baby.”

At Tuesday’s sneak peek for the Orchid Show, we all laughed when on our walk through the Enid A Haupt Conservatory for the press preview, Marc Hachadourian, director of glasshouse horticulture and senior curator of orchids at the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) and author of Orchid Modern. (Love this book) noted that when orchids were first introduced to the Victorians, women weren’t allowed to have them because their flowers were thought to be too erotic and too sexual; altogether too much for a woman to bear, 

Fast Forward. Almost a century later, Lily Kwong, landscape artist, marks the Garden’s 20th annual homage to orchids, as the first woman to design the exhibit!

Oh, have we come a long way, baby…

Seriously, the show is a triumph.  It is brimming with sensual, feminine beauty.  

It has a story to tell…

Sowing Wonder; Hip Hop Environmentalism & A Plantastic Future!

 

It has been two spring plantings and fall harvests since Metro Hort held its annual flora fiesta.  (But who’s counting?!) In fact, the January 2020 event was probably the last gathering for so many plant-aholics before that other “P” word* shook us to our, ahem, “roots” ~ (hort humor is irresistible.)  

Fast forward. Last week marked Plant-O-Rama’s (POR) triumphant return to In Real Life (IRL) / “in person” symposium and trade show for horticultural professionals where we learn about how plants will change our world.  And that change starts in our gardens.  As you’ll read, there’s plenty of wonder to astound and  astonish… 

Toast the Year Ahead with a Fruity Citrus Champagne Cocktail ~ Easy Recipe to Celebrate New Beginnings

 

January is the month of new beginnings. It’s a time of celebrating transitions and change.

What better way to kick off the start of a new year than with a champagne cocktail?!

Here’s your sure to be, go-to bubbly recipe for happy hours and special, sparkly salutes.

Uncovered ~ The Story Behind The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Grand Floral Urns

 

Even before I was a Member, I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art  frequently.  Some might say with abandon…

If I was looking for inspiration while writing or if a new show premiered, or I just had to see the rooftop exhibits with their extraordinary installations and that heart-stopping vista of Central Park and beyond, why, I could hop on a subway near our home at Union Square and be at the Museum in about 10 minutes; transported to other worlds…

And I always, always was enticed by the magnificent, grand urns in the museum’s lobby and their breathtaking floral displays.  

I took their photos every single visit. It was a mystery to me that their beguiling looks were always changing, too.  

But it wasn’t until just the other day that I learned of their origin story.