People expect beautiful flowers to smell good. The truth is, the primary role of fragrance in flowers is to attract pollinators. This is as true of orchids as it is of any other family of plants. Some of these pollinators (flies, for example) prefer very strange odors. Others don’t even have much sense of smell (birds), relying instead on visual cues to zero in on a flower. In addition, many of the artifical orchid hybrids have had the fragrance bred right out of them in the quest for ever larger more colorful blooms.

The upshot of this is that people are sometimes disappointed and even surprised by what does or doesn’t emanate from a gorgeous orchid blossom. "Catnip" and "socks" might be the verdict when someone gets a whiff of certain Oncidiums. "Nothing" might be the baffled response after a deep sniff at a stunning purple Phalaenopsis.

There is certainly no reason to stop sniffing, however. A vast number of orchids still exude the sweet, spicy fragrances that people can’t get enough of.

Cattleya, Rhyncostylis, Zygopetalum, many of the Oncidium genus, certain Cymbidiums and Miltassias - the names sound like something out of Roman military history, but the aromas are as fresh and delightful as a stroll through the Garden of Eden.

Funny footnote: If you look into the center of almost any orchid flower, you will see a small light-colored structure called the column. The column always looks to me like a human nose! It’s a silly coincidence, but it makes me laugh whenever I notice it.

Here’s another one of my favorite orchids: the jewel orchid, specifically, Macodes species. I was first introduced to these little lovlies in 2004 when one of our orchid suppliers brought in several to display here at Orchid Mania. They are not your typical orchid grown for its flowers. Instead, the leaves of Macodes are patterned with gold veins that are brilliantly iridescent. I couldn’t stop staring at the leaves especially when sunlight hits them. They really sparkle! I tried growing one in our greenhouse at home. I learned they they really don’t like bright light and that my greenhouse was just too bright. They are originally from the forest floors of South East Asia and therefore need only 500-1000 foot candles of light, otherwise, they’ll turn yellow and the gold veins will fade a bit. Success with these orchids includes offering them high humidty and a fairly moist medium like sphagnum moss. You can still see the Macodes here at the Garden until this Sunday, March 29th. We’re displaying them in the wardian cases in the Glasshouse to ensure the highest humidity. Unfortunately, we lost one to an evil slug who literally decapitated the poor orchid. Needless to say, that slug is no more. Slug control- that’s a subject for another blog coming soon.

    One of the highlights of this year’s Orchid Mania show are the three arches stuffed with orchids surrounding the large bridge in the Costa Rica biome. As beautiful as the arches are you might be surprised at how inexpensive the structures them-selves were to put together sans orchids. The arches were built entirely in-house, and most of the materials were extra supplies that we had on hand. When facing a project big or small, it pays to be creative with the resources you already have.

    The main supports of the arches are six long pieces of rebar that were left over from some long forgotten project. The rebar was fairly easy to bend by hand into six halves of an arch. Attached to the rebar in a cylinder shape are lengths of vinyl coated wire fencing, also left over from past projects. The fencing is double wrapped in plastic deer fencing (left over from the construction of our chameleon enclosures) and stuffed with packing peanuts in order to support the orchids that will eventually be stuffed inside. Finally, surrounding the outside of the arches, stuffed between the deer fencing, is a thin layer of inexpensive and renewable long-fibered sphagnum.

Everyone gets it around here. Each year I think I’ve developed a little immunity, or at least enough tolerance to act cool when the orchids start showing up for the annual Orchid Mania exhibit. But I’m caught up in the delirium every time, oohing and aahing over the dizzying variety of shapes, patterns, and fragrances. Even the bland, rounded petals of common moth orchids (Phalaenopsis) charm me again with subtle little variations between pale pink and rose-stained, dappled, striped, water-marked with primrose yellow, and jutting curlicued fuchsia lips.

Once I’ve gotten over the sheer impact of so many  flowers, the next phase sets in: Covetousness. Although it’s quite possible to maintain a collection of orchids in windowsills and under lights (many people do it!), you have to have the chronic form of orchid fever to devote yourself to doing it well. I have a handful of durable little orchids at home, but there’s really not a lot of room for more.

The solution for me is to collect with a camera. Digital photography makes it wildly easy to capture flowers in full color and stunning detail. I don’t need to be that good a photographer to collect a greenhouse full of images.  They bloom with the click of a mouse, I don’t have to water them, and I can keep them on my desktop, where pretty much everything else has withered and died. Only the fragrance is left to memory (more about fragrance, flowers, and memory some other time.)

Posted by Ann McCulloh

For Orchid Mania, we have many varieties of fragrant orchids on display this year. For the first time, we have an orchid called Rhynchostylis (pictured left), aka the foxtail orchid. Its inflorescence is packed tightly with pink, red or white flowers almost resembling a hyacinth. It has a very sweet, citrusy scent that at first I couldn’t place. I wasn’t even convinced that I liked the fragrance. But then my husband said it reminded him of the scent of Osage-Orange fruit, also known as Mock Orange (but the slang is much more fun: monkey brains). Since then, every time I walk by Rhynchostylis, I have to smell it, because it has one of the most unique orchid scents. Another orchid that has a delicious scent is the so called chocolate orchid – Oncidium Sharry Baby. We’ll have a number of these orchids on display for your smelling pleasure!

Posted by Cynthia Druckenbrod                                                      

All this week, we are busy preparing for our fifth annual orchid show – Orchid Mania: The Seductive Orchid. We have a different theme every year, and this year I took my inspiration from a book titled Orchid Fever: A Horticultural Tale and Love, Lust, and Lunacy by Eric Hansen. It’s a fabulous book that details how the world of orchid fanciers is a strange, wonderful and sometimes sinister place. We will have some of the orchids that Hansen mentions here at the Garden from Saturday, Feb. 9 – Sunday, March 9. This is not your typical orchid show. You’ll see orchids that you’ve never seen before, like the 12-inch long petals of Paphiopedilums (slipper orchids) and the glittering leaves of Jewel orchids. We will be showcasing orchids that have different fragrances. Some of my personal favorites are the Zygopetalums (see picture). They have a very unique, spicy scent that is just intoxicating!

Posted by Cynthia Druckenbrod