A blooming good time: Annual orchid show begins Saturday
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Sheila Nathanson, co-president of the Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania, stands at the entrance of her home’s greenhouse. Nathanson and spring show co-chair Janet Greenberg hope for a large turnout to the annual show this year.
Sheila Nathanson is at home among the orchids. For an anniversary, her husband repurposed a room in their home, transforming the space into an airy greenhouse where Nathanson grows orchids and other plants under both natural and LED light.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
An orchid grows in Sheila Nathanson’s greenhouse in Mt. Lebanon. Nathanson will host a lecture, A Beginner’s Guide to Growing Cattleya Orchids, during the Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania’s annual spring show March 19 and 20.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
More than 28,000 species of orchids grow in every part of the world – except Antarctica. Some orchids prefer tropical climates, while others thrive in arid or mountainous climates.
Pictured is a colorful orchid in the Cypripedium genus. Better known as lady's slippers, the 58 species that are classified as Cypripedium grow globally and resemble a woman's slipper.
Of the 28,000 orchid species, more than 200 grow in North America, and Pennsylvania is home to 50 of those. A wide variety of species will be on display at the OSWP's annual spring show March 19 and 20.
When most people think "orchid," the phalaenopsis species comes to mind. Also known as the moth orchid, this species blooms in a myriad of colors.
Katherine Mansfield/O-R
An orchid blooms in Sheila Nathanson’s greenhouse, an airy space just off her living room. When Nathanson and her husband moved into their Mt. Lebanon home in 2010, they were surprised to learn the founder of the OSWP, Grete Evans, had lived just a few doors down from their new house.
Since humankind began mythologizing, the orchid has inspired legends like Greece’s Orchis, paintings like Martin Johnson Heade’s Orchid Blossoms and novels like Susan Orlean’s “The Orchid Thief.”
With more than 28,000 species blossoming in every part of the world save Antarctica, the orchid is alluring, an accessibly mysterious flower whose symmetry and coloring have enthralled for centuries.
And after a one-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the slender flower returns to the South Hills, the star of the Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania’s spring show. This year, the society – founded in 1954 by Grete Evans in her Mt. Lebanon home – is celebrating The Joy of Orchids March 19 and 20 at the Crowne Plaza Suites in South Hills.
“We think there’s a lot of pent-up demand for this sort of thing,” said Sheila Nathanson, co-president of the society. “People haven’t been able to buy plants for a while, except mail-order. It’s fun to get that box in the mail, but there’s something good about going and actually being able to pick out the one you want.”
For years, the OSWP has welcomed more than 1,000 guests to the annual show, where folks can browse and buy from vendors selling orchids and pruning, planting and potting tools, amongst other flower-care items.
This year, for the first time in society history, artisan vendors will also display their wares alongside traditional vendors and carefully curated member exhibits.
“We’re having some of our members who do artsy-type things come and display and sell some of their stuff,” said Nathanson.
“Some of our members … never wanted anything except orchid stuff. We’re busting out. We just got over the pandemic. We want people to be able to participate with what they do, too.”
Participate and learn, too. Over the course of the two-day event, speakers will present on a variety of topics, including a Beginner’s Guide to Growing Cattleya Orchids and Sex, Lies and Orchids: XXX, presented by Nathanson and Timothy Choltco, respectively.
Nathanson and Janet Greenburg, spring show co-chair, hope that folks come out to learn and to admire the striking exhibits by OSWP members, some of whom have been recognized by American Orchid Society judges. Those judges will be on-site Saturday morning, and exhibits will open to the public that day at noon.
Nathanson and Greenberg also hope attendees will be inspired to join the society.
“It’s a great place to make friends. You start with something in common. We’re really inclusive,” said Nathanson, who has been a member for more than a decade. “If you join up at the show, you get a free orchid.”
The society is transitioning from Zoom to monthly in-person meetings, where, Nathanson said, members show and tell about their growing plants and a speaker instills orchid knowledge. Often, in-person meetings begin with cookies, coffee and conversation.
The Joy of Orchids is a chance for the Orchidaceae-curious to dip their green thumbs in the potting soil and admire the beauty and variety of a species humankind has been fascinated with for centuries.
“They bloom any time of the year. If you play your cards right, you can have something blooming every single month,” said Nathanson, noting orchids are a marvelous way to bring nature into your home. “Something about them – they’re just magical.”
Admission is free for individuals 18 and under, and $5 for anyone over 18. Tickets are available at the door, which opens at 9 a.m. both days. Exhibits are open from noon to 8 p.m. March 19 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 20.
Vendors open at 9 a.m. both days; they close at 5 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday.
The lecture series begins at 11 a.m. both days.
For more information on The Joy of Orchids, visit https://www.oswp.org/annual-orchid-show.