Orchids attract the colorful to South Coast Plaza

Andrew Glazer

SOUTH COAST PLAZA -- Flowers and passion were in bloom Thursday at the

opening of the 20th annual Fascination of Orchid show.

“It’s wonderful, beautiful, sensational,” said Vivian Nathan, who came to

the show from New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband Michael. “You

just run out of adjectives!”

The orchid show, which is sponsored by two local orchid societies, is the

largest of its kind on the West Coast and the third-largest in the

country, said Roberta Fox, the show’s vice president. Last year, the

event drew approximately 80,000 orchid enthusiasts. On Thursday, the

three floors of the mall with orchid displays were flooded with flower

fans.

Many will likely still be there when the show ends Sunday.

Orchid-lovers, perhaps contrasting with rhododendron or carnation

admirers, are very serious about their hobby. Many wore brightly colored

flowered shirts -- orchids, of course. They slowly meandered around each

display, peering at the petals of thousands of the dazzling flowers.

Some orchids had thin, jagged petals resembling spiders legs. Others had

wide, soft petals so saturated with color they looked like liquid. But

they all had sultry names, such as Boogie Woogie, Pirates Cove and Dark

Spirit.

Mark Miller, an apprentice orchid judge for the Cymbidium Society of

America, wore a flowered golf hat adorned with pins from the 25 shows

he’s judged.

Miller followed an entourage of clipboard-carrying judges, rating orchids

on their size, color, quality of bloom, stem and space between petals.

Less space is better, he confided.

“I’ve seen some good stuff,” Miller said, pausing to examine a

brownish-red Cymbidium. “It has a nice flat shape, a good size.”

Miller has about three years of judging orchids remaining before he can

finally claim full judge status. As an apprentice, he can vote on flowers

and displays nominated by true judges. He looks forward to the day when

he has that power. But then again, it was just three years ago when

Miller was just a “clerk judge,” restricted to carrying clipboards and

taking notes for the real judges.

As he explained the complex orchid-judging hierarchy, his group began to

wander away. He rocked on his feet like a kid forced by his parents to

stop and pose for photos at Disneyland.

“I better catch up with them,” he said, running ahead to join his team in

scrutinizing a new display.

Others were less intense.

Clad in a yellow dress and yellow orchid earrings, Madeline Visca seemed

to approach orchid appreciation in a slightly less academic fashion as

she stood near a display of yellow Rose Armstrong orchids.

“The colors just make you respond,” she said. “In Seattle, they’re so

depressed because it’s always so gray. But just look at these colors!”

The show is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday; from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Saturday; and from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday.