This Orchid event is held every three years, and visitors get to see all sorts of Orchids and landscape display. Daddy was curious to know more about Orchids...
Presenting "Orchids and Sensuality - Then and Now"
Our speaker for today is Ms Peggy Tan, and she has been around Orchids for 30 years! Peggy will share her insights on Orchids, and bring us into the world or Orchidaceae.
Ten minutes into presentation, we have to rub our eyes and believe these are orchids too !
.. more unconventional Orchid species
What else did we learn during our Orchid crash-course?
.. Orchids were groomed in Japan and China, since hundreds of years ago !
..Herbal Orchid tea anybody? Did you know Orchid essence can also be extracted for perfumes and even ice creams !!
.. yes some Ice cream got Orchid ingredients. Salep is actually grounded Orchid tubers, and believed to be an aphrodisiac woohoo!
.. we know more about Singapore's tradition to name Orchid hybrids after VIPs.
.. Orchid names are quite tricky to pronounce. ..
and each geographical region excels in growing certain Orchid species.
.. Horticulturist mix DNA from different parents to develop new Hybrids..
.. Vanda Ms Joaquim is also Singapore's national flower. Singapore is the only country to name a hybrid as it's National flower.
Our teacher told us that it was Charles Darwin (father of biology evolution) who discover that plants go through "pollination" to spread their seeds (in the olden days, people believe everything is divine intervention).
Read about Darwin's fascination with botany here.
Moths, bees, birds all help to collect nectar, and at the same time, help to disseminate Orchid pollen.
.. some Orchids even split their pollen at passing objects !!
Back to Primary Three Biology class, we learn about Orchid's anatomy.
Orchid testicle ! Did you know that the word "Orchid" is derived from Greek, meaning testicle !
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Together with buddy HP, we both found Orchids fascinating after Peggy's speech,
and it is not only Orchid sex which makes us curious ok :p
Thank you to Zelia too for inviting us, we guys got in touch with our own sensuous side today haha!
If you find Daddy's Orchid class interesting, you might be interested to know more about the World Orchid event this coming Nov 13-20. Some lucky event participants will even get to visit the Flower Dome !
Yes, one of the green house (aka conservatories) at Gardens by the Bay !
In conjunction with this Orchid event, there will be some exciting contests like drawing, photography and even flower arrangement. Take a peep and you might find something of interest :)
Are you eager to find out more about the tickets?
- Weekday - Adults $15, children $9
- Weekend - Adults $20, children $12
- Family package (2big 3small) for weekday and weekend are priced at $42 and $58 respectively
From now till 11Nov, tickets are available online or from Singapore Botanic Gardens. More info here --> http://202.136.18.71/woc2011/Ticketing.asp
If you are an Orchid newbie, maybe Dummies can help, they will even help you decipher the complicated Orchid names too. Cool !
Click on links below for more pictures :
-- 19th WOC Orchids at Miami
-- Daddy's event photos and more cute Orchids
**updated 2011Nov18 - Look at Daddy and Mummy's Orchid excursion
** Daytime and NightTime
SengkangBabies are definitely looking forward to smell the Orchids this November :)
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A review of the World Orchid Conference 2011 was published in the Sri Lankan newspaper, CEYLON TODAY (www.ceylontoday.lk) on 6 March 2012 page 12. Any feedback would be appreciated. Dr. Rohan H. Wickramasinghe (wesakmal@gmail.com) P.S. Incidentally, 'wesakmal' is the name used in Sri Lanka for Dendrobium MacCarthiae, one of our endemic orchids.
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