GardenDesignOnline

Happenings March 2025

Selected Events Around the Country:

Orchid Shows:

Thru March 9, Orchid Show, St. Louis, MO
Missouri Botanical Garden
Thru March 23, Orchid Show, Boylston, MA
"Pixels & Petals," New England Botanic Garden
Thru March 23, Orchid Show, Glencoe, IL
"India Blooms," Chicago Botanic Garden
Thru March 30, Orchid Show, Cleveland, OH
Orchids: Love in Bloom, Cleveland Botanical Garden

Thru April 13, Orchid Show, Atlanta, GA
"Orchid Daze," Atlanta Botanical Garden
Thru April 27, Orchid Show, Washington DC
"Masters of Deception," US Botanic Garden & Smithsonian Gardens
Thru April 27, Bronx, NY
The Orchid Show: Mexican Modernism
NY Botanical Garden

Events:
March 1-9, Philadelphia Flower Show, Philadelphia, PA
"Gardens of Tomorrow," Philadelphia Convention Center
March 1, Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours, CA
Cathedral City, Palm Springs
March 5, "Roses in the Garden," West Palm Beach, FL
3-5pm, lecture, photographer Ngoc Minh Ngo,
Norton Museum of Art, Garden Conservancy
Repeats at other locations
March 7-9, Vermont Flower Show, Essex Junction, VT
Champlain Valley Expo
March 7-9 Santa Barbara International Orchid Show, Santa Barbara, CA
"Exotic Gardens," Earl Warren Showgrounds
March 8, US Production Facility Open House, Washington DC
10am-2:30pm, US Botanic Garden Production Facility

March 11, 39th Davidson Horticultural Symposium, Davidson, NC
9am - 4:30pm, Davidson College, "The Unusual, Unexpected & Unfamiliar"
March 12, "Lawn to Meadow Conversion," ONLINE
7pm, Lecture, Evenings with Experts, Grow Native Massachusettts

March 21, Ithaca Native Landcape Symposium, Ithaca, NY
8:30am-4:45pm, Cinemapolis Theater
March 27, "Three Coastal Maine Gardens," Bronx, NY
11am, Lecture, NY Botanical Garden
March 29, Lahr Native Plant Symposium, Washington DC
9:15am-3:45pm, US National  Arboretum
March 29, Northwest Hort Society Spring Symposium, Kenmore, WA
8:30am-4pm, "Futurescapes," Bastyr University Auditorium

Lookahead:

April 10-12, 78th Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium, Williamsburg, VA
"The Influence of Great English Gardens,"  Also ONLINE
April 26-May 3, Historic Garden Week, various sites, Virginia

May 20-24, Chelsea Flower Show, London, UK

Books: Fernando Wong Landscapes

   You don't have to live in the tropics to be inspired by Fernando Wong's landscape designs.  This new book, The Young Man and the Tree, (Vendome Press, 2024) is written by Wong's partner, Tim Johnson, and it features more than 20 contemporary gardens located in tropical areas, including Miami, Palm Beach, and Lyford Cay in the Bahamas.

The team is renowned for saving large trees, and all designers should be cognizant of that when fashioning plans and hiring contractors.  As Martha Stewart notes in the introduction to the book, "Fernando Wong is also extremely respectful of historic plantings around the older homes he has been entrusted with enhancing.  Magnificent trees and lush hedges are retained, and beautiful antique and vintage walls and outbuildings are restored or rebuilt.  The result?  A cohesive and meaningful whole where once there was none or where what had been there had disappeared."

Wong, trained in architecture and interior design in his native Panama, came to the United States in 2001, met Johnson in Miami, and the two opened their firm in 2005.  Their work has been featured in Elle Decor, The Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, The New York Times, and many other publications.

Each garden in the book includes a brief description of the project, a "plan" of the landscape, and gorgeous photos by Carmel Brantley.  Designs range from the classical style to contemporary landscapes, and although the gardens in this book feature many tropical plants, the hardscapes that include pools, outdoor kitchens, fountains and sculpture gardens could be found almost anywhere.  You will not fail to be inspired by all of these designs, and I'm sure you'll look forward to the firm's next book that we hope will feature gardens across the United States and elsewhere around the globe.

*Commisions earned on book sales.

NYBG Orchid Show: Mexico

NYBG - Click to enlarge

The Orchid Show: Mexican Modernism
February 15-April 27, 2025
NY Botanical Garden

Take a trip to Mexico -- where you'll see traditional floral displays in a contemporary artistic setting, all inspired by the bold designs of Mexican modernist architect Luis Barragan. Thousands of orchids and other tropical plants will be on display.  Barragan was a leading proponent of modern Mexican architecture, and he used plants native to Mexico, bright, bold colors and organic textures.

Visitors to the show will also learn about NYBG's ongoing orchid research in locations around the globe and orchids that grow in the wild.  The exhibition will also feature Orchid Nights and special classes about orchid species.