New York Botanic Garden: Cuba in Flower

Feb. 27 – April 11, 2010
The idea behind winter holidays like Christmas and New Years is to break up the dead of winter with an excuse to celebrate. We all get a bit antsy looking out and seeing the bleak landscapes in every direction. Personally, I was thrilled to discover the first Robin of the season even as it was flitting around, albeit uncomfortably, in a snow-covered holly tree just outside my bedroom window a couple of weeks ago. A few days later came a flock of those little gray birds with the tufts on their heads. And just the other day I got my first glimpse of the frisky Cardinal pair that returns every year around this time and stays till late fall.

Down the street there’s a neighbor whose lawn is already covered with crocuses. This weekend we spring our clocks an hour ahead. Spring is definitely on its way. Still, even as the time for the forsythia to start blooming is fast approaching, waiting for it seems to get harder and harder each year. Many people choose February - March to vacation in Florida or in the Caribbean. But it’s not really necessary to go that far.

Every year at this time, the New York Botanical Garden sponsors an orchid show in its Enid A. Haubt conservatory. This year it’s called appropriately, The Orchid Show: Cuba in Flower. It runs from February 27th through April 11th. Even if it’s freezing outside, in the greenhouses it’s warm and tropical. Orchids are in full bloom everywhere and one easily forgets one’s wintry malaise.

Interesting to note is that orchids are classified as epiphytes, meaning that these are plants that grow (non-parasitically) on trees (either dead or alive) or on some inanimate object such as a building, fence or stone. They get moisture and nutrients from the air and sometimes from debris that may have accumulated around them. Orchids, therefore, are a fitting tropical allegory for our notion of the dead of winter from which (in spring) new living shapes are spawned.

These special winter exhibits (which include a delightful Christmas exhibit) at the New York Botanical Garden are very popular and you can expect quite a crowd, especially on weekends. The last time we went, we were not allowed to take pictures because staff wanted to keep the crowds moving as to give others a chance. Besides the orchids, there are plenty of other flowers to see as well. Personally, I found the various cacti and succulents most fascinating. All are painstakingly identified with both their common and botanical names.

Go to www.nybg.org for ticket information and directions. It’s virtually guaranteed you’ll leave uplifted and more than likely with more than enough momentum to make it all the way through to cherry blossom time.

Peter Koelliker; pkoelliker8@yahoo.com