Home to more orchid species than anywhere else in the world, Colombia’s unparalleled biodiversity and vibrant culture is the inspiration for this year’s Kew Orchid Festival.

Kew Orchid Festival 2019 © Jeff Eden

The annual festival, now in its 24th year, takes place until 10th March and features over 6,200 orchids, including the exquisite Flor de Mayo (Cattleya trianae), Colombia’s national flower. 

Visitors to the Princess of Wales Conservatory at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew will find themselves transported to a paradise evoking the sights, smells and sounds of Colombia. The festival experience is an immersive journey through the different zones of the glasshouse where visitors will encounter many beautiful displays representing aspects of Colombian wildlife and culture.

Colombia is famed for its wildlife diversity and boasts the greatest number of bird species of any country in the world. To celebrate this, the central display of the festival is a ‘carnival of animals’ depicting a toucan in flight, a hanging sloth and swimming turtle, all composed of orchids, bromeliads and other tropical plants.

Sloth in Carnival of Animals, Kew Orchid Festival 2019 © Jeff Eden

A cascade of hundreds of colourful hanging vanda orchids represents Colombia’s famous rainbow river, Caño Cristales. Elsewhere, an intricate, floating display bursting with bright yellow orchids in the glasshouse pond depicts the legend of El Dorado.

To capture the essence of the festival, Kew has enlisted the help of Colombian multidisciplinary artist Vanessa Moncayo Gonzalez, who has transformed the glasshouse film room with colourful Boyacá-style street-art murals. Another Colombian artist, Omar Castañeda, has created original sculptures that feature in a 'treasures of Colombia' display alongside Colombian orchids from Kew's collections.

Elisa Biondi, Supervisor of the Princess of Wales Conservatory, said: “Colombia has formed a unique inspiration for the orchid festival at Kew. The Princess of Wales Conservatory will be transformed by awe-inspiring orchid displays that will showcase Colombia’s biodiversity and Kew’s work in the country to help to protect, conserve and study its plants.”

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew © VisitBritain / Joanna Henderson

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding collections as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world. This year’s festival will showcase Kew’s ground-breaking work with Colombia to help identify, protect and promote the country’s biodiversity.

Kew Gardens, on the bank of the River Thames in West London, is a major international visitor attraction, with over 2.1 million visits every year. Kew was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003 and celebrates its 260th anniversary in 2019.

Janet Redler, Chief Executive of Janet Redler Travel & Tourism, added: “This year’s Kew Orchid Festival is a spectacular celebration of Colombia, with dozens of dazzling displays representing the culture and landscape of one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. Kew Gardens is worth a visit at any time of year, but for orchid lovers - and flower lovers in general - this festival is not to be missed.”

If you or your group would like to enjoy a garden tour of the UK and Ireland, taking in some of the countries’ finest gardens and flower shows, please do contact our friendly team.