Phipps Conservatory show explores orchid and bonsai history, culture

Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens presents an annual show highlighting the beauty and abundance of its orchid and bonsai collections. This year’s show will do that — and more.

“Orchid and Bonsai Show: Origin Stories,” opening Saturday in the historic glass house in Pittsburgh’s Oakland section, also will provide historical and cultural perspectives on the exotic flora.

“For this year’s show, we decided to draw on the centuries of inspiration and obsession driven by orchids and bonsai to talk about the different ways people’s relationships to these plants have changed over the years,” said Joe Reed, Phipps senior director of communications.

Running through March 5, the show will explore 19th-century orchid expeditions through the lens of European colonization.

“Orchid hunting peaked in the 1800s, in the midst of European colonization — to the frequent detriment of ecosystems and Indigenous cultures,” Reed said. “Though orchids grow all over the world, many such expeditions took place in various countries in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia.

“By the 1840s, ‘orchidelirium’ had the wealthiest elite spending today’s equivalent of tens or even hundreds of thousands dollars on a single plant,” he added.

To illustrate such orchid hunting, specimens will be displayed alongside tools of the trade, including a compass, a shipping crate, a botanical illustration and specimen notes.

“In one room, we will display orchids in a Wardian case, a kind of portable terrarium allowing orchids to survive the journey from the tropics to Europe,” Reed said.

Also among the show’s special features will be:

• Information on the origins of many unique bonsai styles in the Serpentine Room.

• Tropical bonsai displayed in a lush golden bamboo grove.

• Bright white Phalaenopsis orchids hanging overhead in Palm Court.

• A Japanese-style fuukiran orchid display featuring orchids arrayed on a bamboo structure.

“The fuukiran orchid, or ‘orchid of the rich and noble,’ is a type of orchid cultivated in Japan which differs from most other orchids in its intention to be enjoyed year-round,” Reed said. “Not just the flower is celebrated but leaf shape, root tip color and even the connection points between the leaves.”

Visitors to Phipps also can view “Garden Railroad: Our National Parks,” an exhibit featuring whimsical, miniature recreations of national parks across the United States, complete with interactive features and plants corresponding to those found in the individual parks.

The Winter Light Garden remains on display through Jan. 28, with viewing available from 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

“Orchid and Tropical Bonsai Show: Origin Stories” was designed by Associate Director of Exhibits Jordyn Melino, Horticultural Collections Manager Ben Dunigan, Orchid Horticulturist Display Giovanny Giraldo and Bonsai Specialist Alex Spiro.

For more information and to reserve timed-entry tickets, call 412-622-6914 or visit phipps.conservatory.org.