a city in bloom
a botanical celebration of new york
NYBG’s Orchid Show is one of my favorite times of year. It comes at the perfect time in the thick of winter when depression is really settling in and spring feels oh so far. A conservatory all the way up in the Bronx is filled with color and tropical flowers, misty enough for you to feel uncomfortable in the coat that you came in so you take it off. For a moment, surrounded by lush greens and too many orchids to even perceive, you forget that it is the dead of winter.
This year the show was designed by anonymous artist and New York native Mr. Flower Fantastic. In his imagination of the concrete jungle, it was heavy on the jungle, low on the concrete. It was a city in bloom, in a way that inspires childlike wonder. There’s something wonderfully fantastical about seeing everyday scenes and recognizable objects formed with flowers.
It was maximalist in the best way. The luxury of these exotic flowers, insulated from the unforgiving winter outside. The vibrancy of the colors layered into familiar shapes: a traffic cone, a taxi cab, a pizza. It was playful, creative, taking the unglamorous parts of our cityscape and elevating it into a botanical celebration. The city was the canvas, and the orchids were the paint. In a year where everyone craves whimsy, this exhibition more than delivered.
Mr. Flower Fantastic’s Concrete Jungle taught us to romanticize everything about the city. The steam towers, the dumpsters, the fire escapes, the laundromats, dollar slice shops. In this fantasy, nature and urban are complementary, harmonious even. And everything smells nice. And all the little details are worth leaning into.
The annual Orchid Show is always a feast for the eyes. This year, the theme was front and center. Loud. Unapologetic. Something that anyone of any age can appreciate and understand. This year it felt a little more special. A little more local. A little more like home.
see also
ORCHID SHOW 2023
FLOWERS IN ART