Patrick Blanc is both a botanist and an artist, bringing his creativity to the design of the current Orchid Show. With his matching bright green hair, the artist brought the show to a new level of beauty by defying gravity with his vertical gardens. Eight foot tall canvases are used as the picture plane, with orchids, ferns, exotic plants, and epiphytes as the artist’s medium, planted together to form compositions with bursts of colors stretching in all directions.
Oversized cubes, reaching 13 feet, are also used to create three dimensional gardens, challenging both the plants used and the space to become a garden outside of the box. Kalihi butterfly orchids decorate an 8×16′ garden wall, welcoming visitors to venture inside the orchid wonderland. The colorful orchid blooms pop on the beds of epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants) beneath them and fill out the vertical living walls.
The show, which runs through April 22, has also been host to many orchid related events, including caring for your own orchids at home, as well informative orchid history and highlights on different strains of the flower.
Inhabitat readers can get 20% off of admission to the Orchid Show by purchasing tickets online and using the discount code 9036. The code is valid for All-Garden Pass tickets (purchased online only – it is NOT applicable for purchasing tickets at the garden) for visits through April 22. Click here to purchase tickets.
