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Welcome to the 2026 NYBG Orchid Show virtual tour! I recently had the pleasure of experiencing the New York Botanical Garden Orchid Show, designed by renowned artist Mr. Flower Fantastic. The theme for this year is Mr. Flower Fantastic’s Concrete Jungle, a connection between nature and urban scenes, as the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory transforms into a floral display of NYC landmarks. Available to the public since 2003, the NYBG orchid show runs each February through April. This year’s exhibit runs from February 7th to April 26th, as the beauty of nature blends with urban landscapes.
Known as one of the most in-demand floral artists in the world, Mr. Flower Fantastic is a former graffiti artist turned floral designer. Growing up in Queens, his love of flowers began with his mother’s garden. Over the years, he became a self-taught floral designer, and as his passion for designing grew, he started experimenting with various mediums and gained a presence through private events and trade shows. In 2018, his defining moment occurred when Serena William’s team invited him to create a floral interpretation of her Nike “Queen” Air max 97 sneakers (designed by Virgil Abloh). The artist created a large scale sculpture that was then presented to Serena at the U.S Open. Following that event, Mr. Flower Fantastic (AKA MFF or Flower) has worked with major brands and media including Nike, Netflix, Adidas, Louis Vuitton, and NBC Sports among others. He is now one of the most in-demand floral artists in the world.
There is more to the story. Ironically, the artist Mr. Flower Fantastic is highly allergic to flower pollen, and has to wear a gas mask and gloves while working on displays. It turns out that the signature mask and gloves he originally wore to manage his allergies ended up becoming part of his identity. According to sources, the renowned “MFF” or “Flower” desires to remain anonymous because he wants the focus to be on his work and not on him.” Usually when he’s out and about in public, he wears a gas mask and gloves, both to protect his health and to hide his true identity.
Now, onto the rest of the virtual tour!
Mr. Flower Fantastic’s love of and belief in the power of flowers truly becomes a reality in the 23rd. annual NGBT Orchid Show! I hope you enjoyed the virtual tour!
Welcome to my April Long Island zone 7b garden! It has been another rollercoaster ride of a month with lots of wind and temperatures fluctuating from in the 50’s one day (that feel like in the 40’s) and rising up into the 60’s other days, and now temperatures have risen over the past two days to an almost record breaking upper 70’s! The garden has been a couple of weeks behind, but there have been frequent gentle rain events to help the flowers grow, and the blooms are now catching up. Join me for a tour!
Buried beneath a blanket of snow throughout the month of March, Hellebore ‘Champion’ is a delight for the eyes. I was happy to see that it was unharmed and the foliage even looks a bit better than after other winters. The blooms were certainly worth the wait!
Joining ‘Champion’, Hellebore’ Merlin’ is blooming and joining the display...
and well, hello there to ‘Dark & Handsome too!
In the back garden, Allium ‘Millenium’ has appeared almost overnight, next to Golden Japanese Yew.
As we get some warmer days, the petite bell-shaped white blooms of Pieris ‘Cavatine’ (Dwarf Andromeda) are showing themselves in the backyard garden...
and the bright reddish-pink stems of Peony ‘Bartzella’ are emerging from the ground!
Around the pool border, a mixture of groundcover Sedum is coming to life with a combination of golden yellow or deep pinkish-burgundy colored foliage. Stalks of yellow blooms and tiny pink blooms will follow in mid to late summer...
and look...Pulmonaria ‘Leopard’ (Lungwort) are blooming too!
Along the patio border, the Hyacinths are in bloom, joined by the foliage of Daylily ‘Stella D Oro’.
Here is ‘Candy Corn’, a relatively new dwarf cultivar of Spirea, which is displaying its vibrant new pinkish-red growth. Pink blooms will follow in late spring to early summer. Lamb’s Ear joins in the mix!
For a little more foliage, here is Repanden’s English Spreading Yew and Sweet Flag, a combination that maintains interest all year long, and now in springtime, the succulent rosettes of Sedum are a delight too!
As daylight lengthens and the days grow warmer, spring is certainly underway with lots of expectations that await. It is time to get out into the garden and get some spring pruning and cleaning done, a task which is actually good for the soul!
I hope you enjoyed your visit!
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Spring has arrived and there is much to do in the garden. As the temperatures rise up into the 50’s and 60’s, here are some important April maintenance tips to get your garden off to a successful start.
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