Author Alice Vincent in her garden
Credit: LYDIA GOLDBLATT
In the cold, drab days of January, the to do list for gardeners is short. We scrub pots, sharpen tools, sort seeds and hungrily flick through nursery catalogues, imagining more verdant times. More importantly, like everyone at the start of any new year, we reflect: what worked last time, what didn’t, what we would like to do differently. After 2020, when plants, gardening and the joy of seeing things grow became a lifeline, that reflection seems more crucial than ever.
After the seismic events last of year – Covid, a lockdown in which women were disproportionately affected, a growing civil rights movement and increasing awareness of our environmental impact – there’s an undeniable sense that in 2021 we can make some much-needed change. Gardening may have offered us a release from the turmoil, but our gardens exist as microcosms of the wider world: the decisions that we make there can encourage a kinder, fairer way
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The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew (RBG Kew), located in the U.K., has awarded the title of “ugliest orchid in the world” to
Gastrodia agnicellus. And while the orchid, named after its home forest in Madagascar, quite likely deserves that title, it also serves as an important reminder: Things that are hard on the eyes can still be great for the nose.
CNN reported on the announcement of the ugly orchid, which RBG Kew made in a recent blog post. The title’s not certified by Guinness World Records or anything how would it be, technically speaking? but if you can find an uglier orchid, we’ll applaud you.