There will be a lot of Paphiopedilums this year; this isn't because I was obsessed with them or anything. (I like them, enough to attempt to grow one, but nothing beyond that.) They just seemed to have a lot more of them this year. As always, a lot of the plants were crammed so closely together that it was more or less impossible to get decent pictures of some of them (you'll notice a stray Phalaenopsis in the background on the left, and a ribbon -- I swear they gave every plant that showed up a ribbon, and then the ribbons were all angling themselves to get into my pictures), and the way some of the displays were set up, a lot of nice plants went unphotographed because I couldn't get close enough. Not that I didn't get plenty of photos anyway: my point is just that there was a higher percentage of paphs than in previous years, and the paphs were also in more accessible displays, for the most part. Hence lots of paph pictures.
As usual, it was impossible to distinguish smells, there being too many scented plants (and not a few fragrant people) around and lots of air currents, so that piece of information will be lacking, again, for this year's pictures. Which is sad. Even if I could distinguish individual smells, though, it's not like I have an easy way to record them for later discussion, so maybe it's better this way.
It's pretty but it kind of looks like it's sticking its tongue out at me! (rubbing it in that I can't grow orchids for the life of me...)
ReplyDeletePretty Paph.
ReplyDeleteThose ribbons are plain annoying especially when their colour is ridiculously bright and they take away attention from the flower that you are trying to photograph.
I visited Montreal show last weekend, took lots of pictures too. Luckily their ribbons were dark green :).
Some pictures are here (I still haven't resized all of them):
Les Orchidophiles de Montreal Orchid Show - March 2012
Such shows always remind me of the caucus-race in Alice in Wonderland---"At last the Dodo said, 'everybody has won, and all must have prizes.' "
ReplyDeleteDon
At the Garden Club of Austin annual plant show, every entry (except club cultivar) gets ribbon, but the ribbon is like a grade. If you get a blue ribbon, it's like getting an A. If you get a blue ribbon with a green thumb, it's like getting an A+. You see a lot of blue ribbons because most members know what to submit to the show that has the potential of getting at least a blue ribbon, and the reasoning behind the practice is that each plant is judged against itself so you aren't comparing apples and oranges, literally, except in the Best of Section, etc. selections. It confuses a lot of people, but just consider that most entrants aren't little kids who need an ego-boo. It's quite rare for different people to bring in the same species, cultivar, variety, etc., so comparing a Bursera to a Mammillaria is kinda tricky even if they're both in the succulent section. Probably the trickiest is the floor plant section because there's no telling what might show up - it just has to be too big for a table and more appreciable on the floor.
ReplyDeleteAnyway. Blah, blah, blah. I'm not saying that's what happened at the orchid show, but I know that's how some shows are judged and how plants are awarded ribbons. Most people don't keep the ribbons unless it's a big ribbon like best of section, so the ribbons get recycled from year to year.