The New York Botanical Garden's annual Orchid Show starts today, February 26th! If you’re in the New York City area any time from now through May 1st, I encourage you to stop by and see the captivating floral exhibit.
Known as the nation’s largest event of its kind, this year's show is entitled "Jeff Leatham's Kaleidoscope" - a presentation of dazzling installations filled with color, light, and visual effect. Originally debuted in 2020, famed floral designer and artistic director of the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris, Jeff Leatham brings back his enchanting display for The Orchid Show’s 19th year. You’ll be amazed at the garden’s transformation of the historic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory showcasing thousands of stunning orchid blooms. This week, I attended The NYBG’s annual Orchid Dinner in the Grand Ballroom of The Plaza Hotel - this year, as one of its event chairs. The event included stunning table centerpieces created by some of New York’s leading designers - every one was colorful, elaborate, and creative. Proceeds from the Orchid Dinner support NYBG's world-class horticulture, botanical research, and children's education programs. The Orchid Dinner also allowed attendees the chance to purchase beautiful orchid specimens for their own personal garden collections during a pre-dinner sale. The rare orchids were hand-picked by NYBG's senior orchid curator Marc Hachadourian - you'll love the plants I brought home.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Held every year to kick off the annual Orchid Show, this year’s event welcomed more than 250-guests to New York City’s iconic Plaza Hotel.
(Photo by BFA for NYBG)
One way the NYBG raises money is to have an orchid sale prior to the dinner. Marc Hachadourian, NYBG’s Director of Glasshouse Horticulture and Senior Curator of Orchids, selects the orchids for the sale that he knows will appeal to the collectors and aficionados who attend the dinner. Here I am looking at some of those on display – could this be one of the orchids I purchased?
This lovely centerpiece featuring orchid flowers, their bold foliage, and petals all around the table is by Dorothy Pfieffer of Cornucopia.
This tablescape with its colorful palette of pinks and purple orchids is by Petal Design Studio.
Javier Burkle of Burkle Creative donated this creation – clean, white orchids atop a dark ornamental piece.
Bright red and white orchids fill the urn of this centerpiece done by Jeffrey Quaritius.
Another colorful arrangement is this one by Margaret Naeve. I try to fit the NYBG Orchid Dinner into my schedule every year – I love seeing what the designers come up with for their tables.
Hilary Pereira and JSA Studio NYC created this pink and bold green centerpiece with its sprays of flowers over every place setting.
This all-white orchid arrangement was presented by Tara McCauley, a New York City-based interior decorator and designer.
This large centerpiece with beautiful lavender and purple orchid flowers was donated by fleursBELLA.
It was so nice to see Marc again – we’ve known each other for many years. Marc oversees the cultivation of tens of thousands of plants for the NYBG’s many displays. He has shared his expertise on my television and radio shows, as well as in my magazine, “Living.” (Photo by BFA for NYBG)
Jeff Leatham and his team at Jeff Leatham Design contributed this eye-catching table arrangement. All the centerpieces were very elaborate and fun.
And this creation was generously donated by Julie Kantrowitz of JK Interior Living.
The Manscapers: Mel Braiser, James DeSantis, and Garett Magee contributed this piece.
And a fun arrangement of orchids, ferns, and palms topped this table by Jerome LaMaar. I have cared for orchids for many years and always learn something new whenever I come to the dinner and when I walk through the beautiful Orchid Show exhibit.
Here I am with Simon Maill, Wes Gordon, Paul Arnhold, and Kevin Sharkey – they helped carry my beautiful new orchids. What a fun event.
And here they are back in my head house. I purchased these wonderful plants – rare and beautiful specimens including Cymbidium ‘Arcadian Sunrise’, Cymbidium Jim Duffin
‘Mt. Airy’, Cymbidium Via Loch Pixie, and a crisp white Cattleya orchid. If you love orchids as much as I do, I know you’ll enjoy the show at The New York Botanical Garden – I hope you can make it. It may be the most popular Orchid Show yet.
This morning, my outdoor vegetable gardens are covered with a light layer of snow and sleet, but I'm fortunate to have vegetables growing beautifully in a large and special greenhouse tucked behind my Equipment Barn here at my Bedford, New York farm.
Its design was inspired by Eliot Coleman, an expert in four-season farming. My gardeners, Ryan McCallister and Brian O'Kelly, do an excellent job with succession planting and all the maintenance. I'm always so happy to share the bounties with family and friends. Very little goes to waste as these vegetables taste so pure and delicious to eat - it's very gratifying to have fresh, organic produce available through the seasons.
Enjoy these photos.
This entire greenhouse, located next to my tropical hoop house, is almost all glass. Most of the energy comes from the sun through these giant windows, which can be programmed to open for ventilation or cooling when needed. This photo was taken earlier this week when temperatures rose to the upper 60s. Today started with freezing rain, sleet, and temperatures in the 20s.
The ideal temperature inside the greenhouse is around 85-degrees Fahrenheit to keep all the vegetables growing their best. We have a large thermometer at the entrance to the structure, so the temperature can be checked easily several times a day.
Here’s Brian watering the tree ferns and vegetable beds. We built 16 of these wooden garden boxes to fit the entire length and width of the space. Raised bed gardening allows good drainage, prevents soil compaction, and provides protection for those plants that may otherwise get trampled.
Lettuce always grows so well in this greenhouse. These need to grow a little bit more before harvesting. We always plant in succession. Succession planting is a practice of seeding crops at intervals of seven to 21 days in order to maintain a consistent supply of harvestable produce throughout the season. This dramatically increases a garden’s yield, while also improving produce quality.
I always grow lots of varieties of lettuce, so I can share them with my daughter and her children. I love fresh lettuce. It’s a real treat to have lettuce like this all year long.
Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of dishes, such as soups, sandwiches and wraps; it can also be grilled.
The gorgeous Swiss chard stalk colors can be seen through the leaves. They are so vibrant with stems of yellow, red, rose, gold, and white. Chard has very nutritious leaves making it a popular addition to healthful diets.
The most common method for picking is to cut off the outer leaves about two inches above the ground while they are young, tender, and about eight to 12 inches long.
And here is a white stemmed Swiss Chard. Look at its giant green leaves – so perfect.
These are the leaves of beets. Beets are sweet and tender – and one of the healthiest foods. Beets contain a unique source of phytonutrients called betalains, which provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and detoxification support.
The radish is an edible root vegetable of the Brassicaceae family. Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, and mostly eaten raw as a crunchy salad vegetable.
Daikon or mooli, Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus, is a mild-flavored winter radish usually characterized by fast-growing leaves and a long, white, napiform root. Compared to other radishes, daikon is milder in flavor and less peppery. And, when served raw, it has a crisp and juicy texture.
This is a beautiful head of radicchio – a perennial cultivated form of leaf chicory sometimes known as Italian chicory. It is grown as a leaf vegetable. Radicchio has a bitter and spicy taste which mellows if it is grilled or roasted.
And look at our broccoli. This is the first time we’ve grown broccoli in the greenhouse. They are all developing so beautifully. To grow broccoli successfully indoors, it must get at least six hours of direct sunlight per day or grow lights timed to provide the same amount of direct exposure. And they need room – each broccoli plant should be allowed at least a couple feet of overall space and six to 12 inches of soil depth.
And do you know… one can also eat broccoli leaves? Eating the large thick broccoli leaves provides another source of the plant’s high content of fiber, vitamins C and K, iron, and potassium.
Harvest leaves in the morning or evening so the cut area can heal in the coolest part of the day. Never harvest more than 1/3 of the leaves, or the plant will suffer.
We will have so many delicious broccoli heads to enjoy from this crop.
Kale is related to cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, and Brussels sprouts. There are many different types of kale – the leaves can be green or purple in color, and have either smooth or curly shapes.
Here’s our parsley. Parsley is a flowering plant native to the Mediterranean. It derives its name from the Greek word meaning “rock celery.”
Last summer, my gardeners planted five of my fig trees in the vegetable greenhouse where they can live all year long in a controlled setting. If you enjoy growing an unusual fruit crop that’s delicious and nearly trouble free, consider figs. Figs will grow well unprotected in zones 8 to 10, and also in colder areas if given good care and proper winter protection.
Also stored in this greenhouse is this grapefruit tree with its waxy green leaves – no fruit yet, but fingers are crossed.
All the beds are watered and weeded – thanks, Brian. I am so pleased with how well this vegetable greenhouse works. Soon, we will be working on the outdoor beds, but for now, I am so fortunate to have this greenhouse where I can harvest flavorful and healthy produce all winter long.
Here in Bedford, New York, temperatures today are expected to be in the mid-30s with several inches of snow coming tonight - this winter has been very erratic.
Yesterday was warm enough - 67-degrees Fahrenheit - to open my tropical greenhouse for just a bit to let in some fresh air. This large hoop house is where I store most of my tropical plants over the winter months. The structure is heated and the humidity levels are closely monitored and adjusted when necessary. My Skylands gardener, Wendy Norling, who is visiting New York this week, took some time to check on all the plants and do some greenhouse grooming.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Here at the farm, I have five different greenhouses. I call this one the tropical greenhouse. It works by heating and circulating air to create an artificial tropical environment. The entire structure is built using heavy gauge American made, triple-galvanized steel tubing. To simulate the best subtropical environment, we try to keep the temperature in this house between 50 and 85-degrees Fahrenheit with some humidity.
These plants grow a little more each year, so the placement of these specimens changes every time they are stored. Here’s a large sago. The sago palm, Cycas revoluta, supports a crown of shiny, dark green leaves on a thick shaggy trunk that is typically about seven to eight inches in diameter when mature, sometimes wider. The sago palm may look like a tiny palm tree with its glossy, stiff fronds, but it is not a palm tree at all. Sago palms are cycads, one of the most ancient plants that have been around since prehistoric times.
These are where leaves were once cut. The rough trunk becomes leafless as it ages and gives way to an evergreen crown filled with upward pointing fronds. The tips are quite pointy and sharp, so it’s best to plant it away from lots of foot traffic.
I have many sago palms in my collection – in all different sizes. The sago palm is slow-growing and can take up to 100 years for it to achieve its maximum height of 20-plus feet tall. It thrives in sunny to shady sites and can withstand some drought once established.
Also in this hoop house is a potted ruffled fan palm, Licuala grandis. It is an unusual and gorgeous species of palm. Ruffled fan palm is native to the Vanuata Islands, located off the coast of Australia. It is a very slow growing palm which can reach up to 10 feet, but usually closer to six feet when grown in a pot. They are grown for their gorgeous pleated, or ruffled, leaves.
This is a Chinese fan palm, Livistona chinensis. This palm is also known by the common name fountain palm because of the way their fronds arch up and then spill downward like water from a fountain. Each frond can grow 40 to 60 inches long.
Another palm is the European fan palm. This is a slow-growing, clumping palm that grows eight to 15 feet tall and spreads six to 10 feet wide. This is the only palm native to Europe and is very hardy. The fine-textured fronds make this palm stand out from other plants. The leaf color ranges from lovely light green to stunning silver.
I also have many agaves, including this blue agave with its beautiful gray-blue spiky fleshy leaves. Do you know… tequila is actually distilled from the sap of the blue agave?
The rigid, thick blue-green succulent leaves are marked with bud imprints and have undulate margins with prominent teeth. The blue agave may reach a height of six to eight feet and grow just as wide.
This is also an agave. All agaves do best in full sun and sandy, well-drained soil, and thrive on the scantest amount of water. Some are more cold-tolerant than others, but they can’t handle damp cold. Here, all the plants are stored with enough space, so that none of them touch.
Fans strategically placed around the greenhouse help to circulate the air. This day was unseasonably warm, so all the fans were running.
This is a Bismark palm, Bismarckia nobilis, which grows from a solitary trunk, gray to tan in color, and slightly bulging at the base. The nearly rounded leaves are enormous and are divided to a third its length into 20 or more stiff, once-folded segments.
This is a fig tree leaf. The fig tree has been sought out and cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world, both for its fruit and as an ornamental plant. Most fig tree leaves are bright green, large, singular, and well-lobed. Fig trees need full sun to partial shade – a minimum of seven to eight hours of sun exposure is best. They also like soil with good drainage. Some of the fig varieties in my greenhouse include ‘GE Neri’, ‘Letezia’, ‘Brunswick’, ‘Chicago Hardy’, and ‘Petite Negra’.
Kalanchoe is a genus of about 125 species of tropical, succulent flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, mainly native to Madagascar and tropical Africa. It is know for its ease of care and interesting leaves and flowers, which bloom consistently throughout the year. Kalanchoe can grow quite large, spreading out over a thick columnar trunk.
The kalanchoe’s leaves are soft and felt-like.
Bird of Paradise, Strelitzia nicolai, is a species of evergreen tropical herbaceous plant with gray-green leaves. Look closely, these plants have actually evolved to create splits along their lateral leaf seams to allow the wind to pass by. In doing so, they eliminate the risk of being snapped in half by strong tropical gusts.
In the front of the greenhouse is a monkey puzzle tree, Araucaria araucana. It is an evergreen tree native to central and southern Chile and western Argentina. It has strange leaves, a distinctive trunk and branches that emerge from the trunk in whorls. Mature trees may reach 150-feet in height and have a trunk diameter of up to seven-feet.
The leaves of the monkey puzzle tree are thick and stiff and have a pointed tip. The leaves overlap each other and completely cover the branches. They are sometimes said to look “reptilian” because they appear similar to a reptile’s scales.
Also in this enclosure is this tall pygmy date palm tree, Phoenix roebelenii. This tree grows to about 10-feet tall or more. Phoenix roebelenii is a popular ornamental plant and needs little pruning to develop a strong structure.
The slender trunk has decorative protuberances along its entire length from where fronds were once attached, but have fallen off as the tree grows.
And remember the potted up Eucomis? All of them are doing well. This plant is also commonly known as the pineapple lily. This South African native has a very interesting flower stalk that is reminiscent of the delicious fruit. These plants will show off a beautiful indoor display in weeks.
The potted amaryllis are flowering! Look how beautiful this bloom is – I can’t wait to see the others open.
And here’s Wendy – enjoying her time grooming many plants she doesn’t often see up in Maine. She’s also enjoying the warmer temperatures, but they won’t last long. Night temperatures here are expected to drop to the 20s and teens – with snow. Winter is not over yet.