KUCHING: Visitors to the 13th Asia Pacific Orchid Conference (Apoc13) are enthralled by the alluring floral displays being showcased there.
Sisters Lee McNicol, 72, and Laurine Belyea, 69, from Perth, Western Australia were amazed by the vibrant colours of the orchids, particularly the purples and mauves.
“We are members of orchid clubs and we go to different conferences around the world,” said McNicol, who also revealed that she had experience judging orchids in competitions, while being a keen orchid cultivator herself.
“I am very interested to see the ones which have been judged and which ones have been crowned champions, what sort of orchids won,” she told New Sarawak Tribune at the BCCK here yesterday.
“We are also looking forward to visiting the marketplace to see what it has to offer, maybe some cards with orchids on them or some silk with orchid prints,” shared Belyea, who teaches art and enjoys painting orchids.
According to the pair, they are part of a group of 24 from Perth who flew in specifically to attend the conference and experience the variety of orchids available.
Another visitor, a local named Hayati Sahari, 65, expressed her love for gardening, especially orchids which she deemed her favourite.
“I have several collections at home, and I am part of a few orchid groups on Facebook. We exchange ideas and information, and we even buy from sellers online,” she said.
According to Hayati, her passion for orchids has spurred purchases from different places such as Sabah, Thailand, Terengganu and Melaka.
“I grow a mixture of hybrid and species orchids – I also have orchid hutan (wild orchid),” she added.
Hayati also revealed that she was looking forward to perusing the marketplace to search for a particular fertiliser that her friends use, which she claims can stimulate particularly beautiful and vibrant orchids.
A group of 20-year-old college graduates who studied in Selangor, Amanda Dina from Miri, Prabooganesh Suria from Shah Alam, and Nicholas Nathen Nimbalker from Penang, were similarly impressed by the sights at Apoc13.
“It was a spontaneous visit, we did not actually plan to come here, but we thought we should give it a try. And when we got here it was just really mesmerising,” said Suria.
“From the moment we stepped in, we could smell the flowers – they smell so good. Everything looks so natural and pretty,” Nimbalker added.
“I always thought orchids were just white and purple; I do not know much about flowers. But coming here is really eye-opening,” said Dina.
Suria also shared that he does not grow flowers but he enjoys them all the same, while Nimbalker does enjoy gardening, saying, “Flowering plants are really cool because while it takes patience to grow a plant, you also get to see results quite quick – it’s fun.”
A member of the Malaysian Muslim Welfare Association (Perkim) Sarawak Sharifah Rabiah, 60, described the event as a marvellous floral haven.
The week-long conference at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) commenced yesterday and will end on July 28.
