Last Sunday, my husband and I took our first trip up to the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. Since we both have never been there and I was feeling extra sentimental during the month of February, I was quite adamant on having us trek out there to see one of the finest beauties in nature: Orchids. And then some. The entire show holds three different rooms. When you first enter into the conservatory you are immersed in a tropical rainforest where we both immediately started removing our wintry layers from the heat and humidity. 80 degrees can warm you right up! ;)
The second passageway brings you into the desert, with a variety of cacti and succulents. I always found plant life in the middle of nowhere, such as an environment like the desert, to be fascinating. To thrive and overcome at the bare minimal of maintenance and care is something us humans should be more mindful of. I feel the world of plants, flowers included, can teach you much about life and yourself. They're on the same journey as you, if you think about. We are born, we live, and then we wither and die. But what we do while we're here is what counts. And they live to make the Earth a better place all the while bringing smiles and warm, fuzzy hearts to us.
Then halfway into the show, you'll come across a countless number of different colored orchids in all shapes and sizes climbing a cascading waterfall—an homage to the inspired glasshouse habitats of the Victorian era that replicated the flowers' natural environment. This, of course, was the highlight of the show, among the many, if not thousands, of displaying orchids. It felt like I was walking in a dream. With my mom! She would've really loved to see this show, but deep down in my heart I knew she was with me in spirit and smiling up above at the beauty of the world.
Fun fact about the name of the show: Orchidelirium is the name given to the Victorian era of flower madness when collecting and discovering orchids reached extraordinarily high levels. Wealthy orchid fanatics of the 19th century sent explorers and collectors to almost every part of the world in search of new varieties of orchids. [1] In Detroit at the Belle Isle Conservatory, Anna Scripps Whitcomb, left her grand collection of 600 orchids back in 1953. I would love to see this conservatory's collection. As an original Michigander, it is a place I've never been to either. I also can't wait for the Cherry Blossoms at the BBG later this month either. Perhaps another blog post in the works? 😉
And lastly, coming up this weekend, I will be posting up my look of the week which include designer brands such as Louis Vuitton, Assembly New York, & Nike. Think corporate sporty chic! Plus details of my new favorite jewelry accessories will be included as well. Stay tuned, I'm excited to share the photos with you! Have a lovely weekend and come back again soon!
PS - The NYBG Orchid Show is running until April 17th! Go check it out here now!