Kew's Indian Orchid Festival Video

When Spring is only just beginning to appear to British gardens, Kew stages its colourful, annual Orchid Festival. The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew focused on Indian orchids and culture this year. 

The Princess of Wales Conservatory was a riot of colour during our Sunday afternoon visit. You can sample what we saw on the following video:

Photographers' Paradise
The conservatory was full of enthusiastic visitors - both young and old. I lost track of the number of different languages spoken around me as I wandered around the magnificent displays with my elder son. It seemed to be a photographers' paradise.  We saw amateurs snatching shots on their smartphones, as well as more advanced photographers with the best cameras and lenses available on the market. 

Kew's beautiful orchids provide plenty of photo opportunities

Education Role
Kew Gardens are not just brilliant at staging popular events like the annual Orchid Festival for the public. The Botanical Gardens also carry out valuable scientific research and have an important educational role. They teach schoolchildren about the natural world, as well as offering advanced training for expert botanists at the other end of the spectrum. It therefore came as no surprise that brightly-coloured signposts informed visitors about orchids and Indian culture.

One of Kew's brightly- coloured and informative signs

Rich Diversity
The above sign informed visitors about the rich diversity of Indian orchids. It explained that orchids are often divided into 3 main groups based on their habitat:

• terrestrial orchids grown in the ground and have underground roots
• lithophytic orchids grow on rocks
• epiphytic orchids grow attached to trees

An elderly visitor in the medicinal plant section

Deforestation Risk
Indian orchids are extremely vulnerable to deforestation as more than half of Indian orchid species grow on trees. Kew's scientists are currently working on a checklist of Indian orchids as part of the Flora of India project in cooperation with Indian botanists.

Medicinal Plants
Another sign informed visitors about medicinal plants. Up to 80% of Indians use some form of traditional medicine.  Some 79 species of orchid are used in this way.

Cultural Explanations
I was somewhat baffled when I saw a small-leaved, green plant apparently sitting on the best spot amid the elaborate, colourful displays. The puzzling choice only made sense once I spotted Kew's informative sign. 

Holy Basil or Tulsi is sacred plant to India's Hindus

Holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is a sacred plant to Hindus. They call it Tulsi, meaning 'the incomparable one'. The leaves are an essential part in the worship of Vishnu. Signs also highlighted the importance of other plants in Hinduism and Sikhism. 80% of the Indian population is Hindu. Flowers have deep meanings and are used to celebrate, worship and mourn. 

Flowers are not used in worship to the same extent in Sikhism. Kew's sign carries a powerful and relevant message in this age of climate change:

Life depends on nature, and an awareness of the sacred relationship between humans and the environment is necessary for the health of the planet and human survival.

It's a neat summary for the importance of Kew's plant conservation work. All the world's people share a deep connection to, and dependence on Nature.

Karen at Kew's Orchid Festival 2017

Karen Andrews is a freelance digital marketer, freelance French>English translator/transcreator, content writer and editor. She has a strong background in global marketing.

Email Karen for further information via karenanglicityen@gmail.com in French, German or English.

From British winter to Brazilian tropics

How can you go from the bitter cold of a British winter's evening to the Brazilian tropics in seconds? You can't ask Star Trek's Scotty to beam you over to the Brazilian rainforest. Nor can you use a port key or floo powder like Harry Potter.

The answer? The Princess of Wales Conservatory at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew just outside London.

I recently went to Kew Gardens' Orchid Festival Late. One minute I was wrapped up in several layers against a bitterly cold winter evening, the next I was in the humid tropics inside the Princess of Wales Conservatory.

Brazilian rainforest indoors at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

As I entered I could hear drums. A Brazilian band and dancers were making a tour of the internal walkways.

Quite a contrast in temperature.

In pride of place were huge displays that reminded you of Brazilian carnivals. There were also huge columns of orchids. Orchids on archways. Orchids hanging above your head.

As ever, Kew played its educational role well. Various signs gave you more facts about orchids. It is estimated that Brazil is home to 2,500 orchid species. Orchid hunting, new discoveries and conservation efforts are ongoing at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.

New DNA studies by Kew's botanists have resulted in some reclassifications. Some of the Brazilian Oncidium species have turned out to be distant relatives despite apparent similarities.

Expert Botanist's area in the Princess of Wales Conservatory at Kew

A Kew expert was on hand on the night to explain pollination and the various parts of an orchid. Poor male bees. It seems that some orchids are the botanical equivalent of con artists. It doesn't help that bees have poor eyesight and can't tell red and yellow apart.

Brazilian dancer under the hanging orchids

Other Brazilian activities on the night included salsa dance classes, cocktails, flower face painting and making colourful carnival hats. It made a pleasant evening out on a chilly winter's evening.


Do you need a versatile writer for cultural, technical or general copy? Contact Karen via karen@anglicity.com to discuss your content marketing strategy.