Orchid Show at Phipps

A few more pictures from the orchid show at Phipps Conservatory, which really need no explanation.

Indian Tropical Forest at Phipps

The Tropical Forest at Phipps has been redesigned to represent India for the next three years. According to the staff, more than three quarters of the plants had to be replaced, as we see in the picture below, taken a few weeks earlier when the transformation was in process.

Slipper Orchids at Phipps

It’s slipper-orchid season at Phipps—mostly in the orchid room, although right now the whole conservatory is filled with thousands of orchids for the annual winter orchid show. Father Pitt did not take down the exact names of these specimens, so if you want more information you’ll just have to go see them yourself. Above, an unusual Papihiopedilum.

Another Paphiopedilum.

A very elegant Phragmipedium.

A Phragmipedium with a bit more of a laissez-faire attitude to personal grooming.

We’ll be seeing more of Phipps Conservatory this week, because Father Pitt loves Phipps in the winter, and he has a bit of a backlog of pictures.

Nutcrackers at Phipps

The Winter Flower Show at Phipps Conservatory has a Nutcracker theme this year. But, as usual, it’s just an excuse to show off mounds of Poinsettias and countless other flowers. After you’ve taken in the Poinsettias, you might want to look out for the various other species of Euphorbia that the gardeners have sprinkled through the displays as a sort of botanical in-joke.

This delightful miniature Victorian conservatory can be found in the Orchid Room.

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Sometimes the scenes in the garden railroad (in the South Conservatory) repay a closer look.

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This is the first time old Pa Pitt has seen a clock with a frame made of succulents.

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In the Broderie.

Purple Beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma)

In the fall, the bright purple berries of this East Asian bush make a stunning contrast to the chartreuse-yellow leaves. This plant was growing in the Discovery Garden at Phipps Conservatory.