Smith College Orchid Sale

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Looks like they could use some friendly knowledgeable help with some of their orchid labels - but there are some GREAT deals there providing the plants are healthy. Paph. Battle of Egypt 'Alpha' and Paph. Sunset 'Alpha' each available for $14??? I don't even want to say what I paid for those 20 years ago.
 
I know. I spotted that Battle of Egypt and thought it was a great bargain. If only I lived in MA.
 
Smith College plans sale of orchids
by The Republican Newsroom
Wednesday May 27, 2009, 9:22 PM
By FRED CONTRADA
[email protected]

NORTHAMPTON - Need a Bulbophyllum for your prom date?

How about a nice Phragmipedium?

An orchid by any other name would smell as sweet (or look just as lovely), and admirers of the choice flowers can get them at Smith College on Saturday, May 30th.

The school's botanic garden is in the throes of an orchid orgy, and it is sharing its largesse with the public. About 1,300 potted plants representing 120 varieties or orchids will be on sale to the public for $4 to $14 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Friends of the Botanic Garden will open an exclusive window for shopping from 9 to 11 a.m.

Madelaine H. Zadik, the manager of education and outreach for the garden, said Smith has found itself flush with orchids, thanks to a flurry of donations. The college's plant house was among those that divided up the extensive collection of the late Pamela Dupont Copeland, who willed the orchids in her greenhouses to a list of gardens that included Smith's.

The college acquired more orchids from a local woman who felt she was getting too old to maintain her collection, said Zadik.

The botanic garden at Smith is also the beneficiary of flowers confiscated at border crossings by the Department of Agriculture.

"Rather than throwing them in the trash, they distribute them to gardens that serve as rescue sites," Zadik said.

Prized for their beauty and sometimes their rarity, orchids have a certain mystique among flower lovers.

"Somehow, it seems to have a very enthusiastic following," she said.

Orchids span the color spectrum, and come in a variety of shapes. More than 20,000 species have been found world-wide from the Arctic to the Equator.

The Lady Slipper of the New England woods is an example of a wild orchid. Breeders have also created new varieties.

The 2002 movie, "Adaptation," starring Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep, portrays a plant dealer who clones rare orchids.

Many people know them simply as the quintessential prom accessory.

"There are orchid societies in almost every state," Zadik noted.

Smith has long had an outstanding orchid collection, according to her. The orchids have been doing so well that the college decided to divide some of the plants and put them up for sale.

Zadik cautioned that the plants are not flowering, and that buyers will have to exercise their green thumbs to bring them to fruition. The sale proceeds will supplement the work in the botanic garden.
 
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