Blooming lovely Wolverhampton orchid show gets worldwide support
The UK's second-oldest orchid society hosted its annual show in Wolverhampton.
The Central Orchid Society was founded in 1956 and is still going strong to this day, with meetings in Perton every month for gardening enthusiasts.
On Saturday, 65 people gathered at The Church at Perton to seek advice from horticultural experts, buy orchids up for sale and admire the society's displays.
The secretary of the society, 83-year-old Ray Tunnicliff, said: "It was a successful show and 65 people came through our doors.
"One of the orchids was the most wonderful plant I have ever seen at an orchid show, it had 23 flower stems with around 500 flowers on it.
"People came from as far as Chesterfield and one man caught two trains and a bus to get here. We've even had messages about it from Malaysia and Thailand!"
The award-winning society has loyal members, the oldest of whom is 95-year-old Dr John Graff, a former surgeon at the Royal Wolverhampton Hospital.
One member keeps in touch via Zoom meetings as he lives in Perth, Australia. So why does the Australian battle time differences to keep up to date with a plant society in Perton?
The answer lies in his genes, as it was John Steele's father who founded the society back in 1956, and John still keeps an avid interest in the group.
Talking about the appeal of orchids to the society's members, Ray said: "The appeal of orchids is that they're challenging.
"They're a real challenge to grow and a challenge to flower. I have always loved gardening, all my life, but I became fascinated with orchids after I was bought one for a present in 1997.
"Then for my 60th birthday we went to Thailand for a holiday, then to the Far East, and the orchids there are incredible. I've been going to Thailand for 20 years now to see them."
