Orchid growers from across the province attended the Orchid Magic show and sale in Langley over the weekend.

Presented by the Fraser Valley Orchid Society, the annual event is a celebration of the beautiful blossoms which grow wild all across the globe and have intrigued people for generations.

Participants have come from Victoria, Vancouver, Nanaimo, 琉璃神社 and the Okanogan, said Society president Yolanda Breck.

鈥淥ur aim is to show people the different varieties of orchids, what kind they can grow,鈥� Breck said.

Standing in a meeting hall that housed an exhibition of award-winning flowers, Breck said the displays represent a range of cultivation techniques and all of them are locally grown.

鈥淎 lot of people grow on window sills, some grow in greenhouses.,鈥� Breck said.

鈥淭he members have managed to get them to grow and flower here in BC. It鈥檚 amazing what you can do. Some are difficult to grow and bloom and some are easy.鈥�

During the Victorian era, orchid hunters were sent out to bring the exotic flowers back to Britain, even though few people had any idea how to care for them properly.

More than 20,000 species exist worldwide, including some that grow wild in Canada. Many of them are endangered due to over-harvesting of the plants and to deforestation that has destroyed the trees on which they depend for survival.

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dan.ferguson@langleytimes.com
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