Festival of Orchids returns to Scone Palace

Jul 30 2010 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

CHELSEA Flower Show Gold Medal winners will be among exhibitors when Scone Palace hosts its annual Orchid Festival over the weekend of August 7 and 8.

The festival, which promises to be a fascinating event for novice and expert orchid enthusiasts alike, will showcase spectacular displays of the newest and most exotic hybrids, as well as more traditional varieties, from some of the UK’s most prestigious orchid nurseries and suppliers.

As well as enjoying the floral displays, visitors will be able to view two new exhibitions.

The Freewheeling Textile Art exhibition, which will be on display in the Lennox Room within Scone Palace, will feature a selection of intricate hand-crafted quilted art, illustrating images of orchids and the venue.

Also on view will be works by the palace’s artist-in-residence Clare Robinson. Clare has been painting some of the orchids in the Earl of Mansfield’s private collection over the summer, and brings these together in her new watercolour exhibition, ‘Fancy Free’, which will be open to view in the King’s Corridor from next Friday to Sunday.

Festival-goers will also be able to enjoy a barbecue on the palace lawns, and live music from Spirits of Rhythm Jazz Band next Saturday and jazz vocalist Stefanie Lawrence on the Sunday.

Palace administrator Elspeth Bruce said: “Orchids are unique in the plant world and come in virtually every colour, shape and size you could wish to see.

“The fact that it’s believed some species may date back as far as 100 million years, when they would have co-existed with dinosaurs, makes them all the more precious and enigmatic to many plant-lovers.”

l The Earl of Mansfield owns the largest private collection of orchids in the UK. Many of the blooms in his collection will be on display in the palace staterooms throughout the festival.