The Orchid Show at Selby Gardens in Sarasota

Hi there, I'm Charlie Belcher coming to you from Sarasota. We're visiting Marie Selby Botanical Gardens for the 2026 Orchid Show. They know a thing or two about orchids around here. Jennifer is the President and CEO of Selby Gardens. You have—let me make sure I get this right, the largest scientifically documented collection of orchids in the world? Bingo, you got it. Something like that. Yeah, we have a really huge orchid collection here in downtown Sarasota so that's why everybody always looks forward to your orchid show. Tell me about the 2026 installment. So every year we do this orchid show where we have hundreds of orchids in flower at the same time. This year it's a collaboration with contemporary artist Christian Sampson and he was born in Bradenton. That's right a Bradenton boy, hometown hero, who went to Ringling College of Art and Design, and now he's based out of Los Angeles. And he's known for his incredibly beautiful acrylic and dichroic film works that capture light and the interplay of light and color, and we've put his work in dialogue with hundreds of orchids from our collection. So he was actually here on site working with your staff to create this, basically, art installment that also happens to be an orchid show. That's right. So this is really a combination of art and nature and horticulture all interwoven together. It really makes for a unique and immersive experience to have the two combined. The orchid is so fascinating. I've learned so much about the orchid covering this show for many years. and just visiting Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in downtown Sarasota. There's so many different varieties. Yes. So many things can be an orchid. That's right. And so really we are known for the diversity of our orchid collection, which has been wild collected over 50 years by our scientists. They go out in the field and collect and bring the different species home. And so that's really our claim to fame. So we love to show off our collection every year in a different way. This runs through December 6th of this year, and it's not only the live flowers here, but there's an installment inside the building as well, inside your museum? That's right. Yes. So we have the living orchids on display in our conservatory with Christian Sampson's art. And then in the museum, he has a very special immersive installation, which is a tribute to the ghost orchid. Selby Gardens is open seven days a week. For more information about anything happening here, go to selby.org. In Sarasota, Charlie Belcher, Fox 13 News.