Orchid Society spring show coming to Whanganui this weekend

Club members Eileen and Lindsay Owen with a Coelogyne orchid, which will be exhibited at the show. This is an easy-to-grow orchid, suitable for beginners.

The Wanganui Orchid Society is looking forward to hosting its spring show over the weekend of October 5-6. The venue this year will be the Blind Low Vision Hall, 102 Peat St (next to the netball courts).

The show will be from 10am to 3.30pm on Saturday and 10am to 3pm on Sunday. As well as sumptuous displays of orchids at the show, there will be sales of plants – and not just orchids.

Several vendors will be selling a range of garden and house plants, including the popular bromeliads. There will be a $2 entry charge to help cover the hirage of the hall.

Orchids are incredibly diverse – they are the largest family of plants, with around 28,000 natural forms, as well as innumerable hybrids. Even people who have been interested in orchids for decades are often startled to see a totally different form. They cover the whole range of colours except true blue.

The friendly club is a way for people to get together to enjoy a shared love of orchids and to learn how to grow them in a supportive environment. The society meets on the first Tuesday of the month, from 7pm at the Forrest Lounge at Dempsey and Forrest, 208 Guyton St.

During winter, the club meets on the first Sunday of the month at 2pm. A friendly competition is held, orchid-related matters are discussed, and there is often a discussion about orchid culture. Sometimes trips are arranged to visit orchid growers in other regions.

Lindsay Owen joined the Wanganui Orchid Society in 2006 in order to meet like-minded folk interested in orchids. Having grown cymbidiums in South Africa, he found Whanganui’s climate just perfect for their cultivation.

Over the years, as his interest expanded, he began collecting other orchid genera and was joined by his wife, Eileen, when she retired. She has taken to growing orchids, particularly masdevallias, “the kite orchid”, like a duck to water, and now they share a common interest in retirement.

They point out that growing orchids in Whanganui’s temperate climate allows one to also grow a number of orchid genera successfully, without too much fuss. The great thing about growing different types of orchids is that they basically flower at different times of the year, thus giving one a year-long point of interest as well as a sense of achievement.

Joining the Wanganui Orchid Society, they say, has proved equally rewarding for both of them. The members are very friendly, helpful and tremendously knowledgeable. They are always willing to share information and expertise with new members or help solve orchid problems.

The monthly meetings have become a focal point in their retirement where information and news are shared over a cup of tea or coffee. Anyone interested in joining the club can pick up a membership form at the show.