These beauties live in a glass pavilion at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden.
Orchids were everywhere, in pots, on trees, on the walls, hanging around.
I wanted to post their names, but their identification is beyond my realm.
I have always been fascinated by orchids.
Their shapes, their colors, their pollinators.
One of my favorite books is The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean.
I understand why folks have obsessions about them.
These flowers seem other-worldly, angelic, heavenly…
Flower
That is the question for Bromeliads.
Some have big, bold blooms.
Some have colorful bracts, sepals, or leaves instead. Their tiny blooms are inconspicuous.
Some have tanks full of water, while others depend on constant humidity.
Some are terrestrial.
Some are epiphytes.
They all belong to the pineapple family, but so does Spanish moss.
I am wondering about this family. There seems to be too much variety to be related.
Bromeliads have beauty in many forms.
FLOWER
Fall has its own decor. It includes dried hay and corn stalks, yellow and orange mums, pumpkins and gourds.
It sounds so simple, but it takes skill to conjure up a seasonal mood from such simple ingredients.
I always applaud such skill. Let’s look at some lovely examples.
This says it all. They know it’s fall.
This is a bounty of fall beauty. Eclectic excellence.
Symmetry and synergy!
Even the hay maze is dreamy.
The folks at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden know how to do fall.
Hooray Halloween!
Flow
When the Orchid Queen has a New Year’s Eve party,
all the orchids arrive in their delicate finery
to dance through the kingdom warmed under the glass.
Skirts of velvet or satin,
with stripes, spots or splash marks.
Each twirls through the branches to greet other beauties.
All colors so vibrant, with intricate markings.
The tiniest of orchids perched high to observe them
as colors of royalty parade through the rooms.
Showy slippers and ruffles
and streamers
and bonnets.
Spots of brilliance revolving around every tree.
What was she wearing you ask of the Queen?
She rang in Two Thousand and Eighteen in green.
FLOWERÂ Â 2018
floweralley 