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One of many types of orchids. Photo Courtesy of Irene Brock

For 50 years, the Blue Ridge Orchid Society has been meeting in Roanoke to share their love of orchids and even to compete against each other for the biggest flower and best culture.

And for two days, Friday and Saturday, the community has the opportunity to check out their flowers. The Blue Ridge Orchid Society will hold a display and exhibit at the Roanoke Council of Garden Club.

Friday's event will be held from noon until 5 p.m. and Saturday’s event will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The orchid society has members from Charlottesville, Roanoke, Lynchburg, and Blacksburg and hold a show every 18 months because different kinds of orchids grow at different times of the year.

Societies from North Carolina and Virginia Beach will also be at the show this weekend to compete with their orchids. Commercial vendors will also be present as well as an information and culture table, and plenty of orchid enthusiasts will be on site to answer questions.

Six judges from all over the country will also be present and award ribbons for the biggest flower and culture, among other things.

“One of the best things about this show is when you walk in the door- the fragrance just hits you,” Irene Brock, an active member of the Blue Ridge Orchid Society said. “We’ve been doing the show for a long time."

Scientists have documented 35,000 different kinds of orchids, according to Brock, who is very excited about their show.

“We think there are twice that many we don’t know about,” she said. “We are just a bunch of hobby growers that grow on windowsills and in our basements.”

Once a month the society has a program and have mini shows at their meetings. Member of the society judge each other based on the orchids they grow.

“Orchids are really just native of their habitat. Most grow in cooler regions of the Indies, China, and Vietnam,” Brock said. “Some of them will even take to freezing temperatures and grow in ditches on the side of the road in South America.”

The Orchid Society even holds a re-potting session every year, because Brock says they have to be re-potted.

“One thing that I like to tell people is that they need to go outside or under a tree, orchids don’t like air conditioning.”

Brock believes the Blue Ridge Orchid Society was started by orchid enthusiasts, when orchids became very fashionable at the turn of the century in Britain and Europe.

The society meets on the second Sunday of every month at 3640 Colonial Avenue at the Roanoke Council of Garden Club building. Those interested can contact Irene Brock at 774-9021.

For a photo gallery of orchids, click here.