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PHOTOS: The 2017 Orchid Show brings a Thai garden to the Bronx – Metro US

PHOTOS: The 2017 Orchid Show brings a Thai garden to the Bronx

Are we even in New York anymore? That’s what you’ll be asking when you step inside the New York Botanical Garden’s Orchid Show, which opens Saturday through April 9.

The theme for its 15th year is Thailand, which claims 1,200 native varieties of the flower ranging from impossibly yellow quarter-sized buds to the famous vanda with lush, patterned blooms in a rainbow of colors, including the rare and coveted blues and violets.

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Thai horticulture is particularly known for its use of color, according to exhibition curator Marc Hachadourian, and the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is fairly bursting with it after its transformation into a traditional Thai garden with features like colored foliage, shrubs grown to take on shapes (look for the elephant!), small shrines to invite in protective spirits, and reflecting pools. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a sala, a towering pavilion covered in a cascade of orchids.

In addition to the flowers, the Orchid Show will offer special programs like Orchid Evenings with a cash bar and live music, film screenings, weekend performances by the Somapa Thai Dance Co. and guided tours Tuesday-Friday at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. The on-site Hudson Garden Grill restaurant will also feature Thai-inspired dishes. The garden is located at 2900 Southern Blvd. in the Bronx; for more information, visit nybg.org.