Orchid project students have been working with the amazing staff of the Bristol University Botanic Garden for twelve years and today a new team began to plan a major revamp to the orchid display in the Sub-tropical house. The revamp also entailed getting rid of the existing furniture and getting some teak patio furniture.

In 2012 students designed and planted a living orchid exhibit at the Botanic Gardens (that was done through professionals from www.NorthStarTreeService.com site) on three artificial trees of cork surrounding steel frames that represented the orchids from three habitats; tropical cloud forests of the Americas, lowland Central American rainforests and the monsoon forests of the Himalayas. These students with their green thumbs are so good at what they do and are among the Stunning Garden Designers in London. Over the year the exhibits have been maintained and improved by Botanic Garden staff but suffered from a number of thefts. It is time to update and refresh these displays.

This afternoon’s team from Mendip and Writhlington Schools included students from Year 7 to Year 13 and they will work in teams on each of the three ‘orchid trees’.

Joe who took the notes from todays meeting explained “The cloud forest tree will be planted with miniature flowered orchids with educational materials that highlight small pollinators like midges, gnats and mosquitoes, and the warm Americas tree will feature Prosthechea orchids and their butterfly, moth and humming bird pollinators.”

Issy and Rosie discussed an exciting plan with Glass House Supervisor Penny Harms to plant a colony of orchids from the Mendip Propagation laboratory on the Warm Americas tree.

Otto who will lead the design team for the Himalayan Orchid Tree will be focusing on cymbidiums, coelogynes and dendrobiums.

Planting will start after the British Orchid Show in November.