ABOVE: Tom Cusack and Bob Saunders with their champion orchids at Woodburn Hall.
Story and photos by Bernice Shepherd
Last weekend the Woodburn/Evans Head & District Orchid & Foliage Society put on a show at the Memorial Hall – the first in two years as a result of covid rules.
I spoke with Kevin and Kathryn Rose, two of the organisers.
“We weren’t sure whether to put it on or not, but people said Woodburn needed a lift and it would be a lovely thing for the community,” Kathryn said.
And a lovely thing it was – the hall was full of the sweetest perfume.
Tom Cusack, winner of the Grand Champion for his stunning Maclellanara – Yellow Star x ‘Golden Gambol’, told me that orchids have all kinds of fragrances, some even smelling like coconut or chocolate.
Unfortunately, no chocolate ones were exhibited at the show. (For those who are interested, the chocolate one is Encyclia cordigera or Cocoa orchid.)
“Some of them don’t have such a great perfume,” Tom said. “We brought one down this weekend and my wife won’t travel in the car with it, it is so stinky.” (Gongora grossa for those who want to avoid it.)
Tom and wife Joanne have won quite a few awards – remarkable since they only started growing orchids seven years ago. Joanne said she used to buy them for her mother and Tom loved them. Then one day they stayed at a hotel with orchids everywhere and his passion was sparked.
“It just grabbed me,” he said.
Others like Bob Saunders have been growing and breeding orchids for many years. Winner of Reserve Champion for a beautiful dendrobium he bred, White Christmas x Buderim Moonlight, he was a fountain of knowledge about orchid care and pollination.
Orchid care, particularly breeding, can be a very precise endeavour best suited to those with a more methodical style. But it turns out that sometimes a hands-off approach is best;
“If it looks good, leave it alone,” Bob said.
Kevin and Kathryn won First Prize Champion in the Cattleya and Cymbidium categories.
Kathryn said orchids are judged on their shape, size, floriferousness (how many flowers), habit, lines and colour.
As a visitor, all the orchids looked pretty good to me, but Kathryn said most times there was easily a standout winner.
She and husband Kevin have been growing orchids for most of their lives and are maybe just a little obsessed. She showed me an orchid that came from her mother and was at least 50 years old.
“Orchids can reach a great age, which is why it is so devastating that some of the growers around here lost very old and rare orchids in the floods,” she said.
Kathryn said some of the orchids are irreplaceable because growers had brought them back from overseas decades ago – before the stringent biosecurity regulations we have today.
But locals are slowly starting their collections again and it has been extraordinarily healing for those members affected by the floods. Kathryn said spending a few hours every week with her orchids is definitely good for the soul.
The Woodburn/Evans Head & District Orchid & Foliage Society would love more people to come and experience the joy that growing orchids can bring.
So if you love to be surrounded by beauty, fragrance and lovely people keen to share their knowledge, why not go along and have a look.
The society meets on the third Sunday of every month, 1.30pm at the Woodburn Memorial Hall.
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