The Orchid Society of Great Britain

The Orchid Society of Great Britain The OSGB was founded in 1951 by John Blowers
We share tips on growing orchids & welcome new members

The Orchid Society of Great Britain exists to bring together people interested in growing orchids, with a full-colour quarterly journal and monthly meetings where members can compare plants, gain cultural advice, hear lectures and borrow books. The Society exhibits at Chelsea Flower Show and all the major UK Orchid Shows.

Yesterday was the last day of the International Orchid Show at Gardeners World Live. We hope that everyone who attended ...
22/06/2026

Yesterday was the last day of the International Orchid Show at Gardeners World Live. We hope that everyone who attended had a great time, enjoyed all of the displays, and maybe even acquired some new additions to their collections!

At the OSGB, we'd like to thank everyone who made our display possible. We're extremely grateful to everyone who provided plants, everyone who helped to set up the display, and everyone who helped on the stand.

For our 75th Anniversary, we won a Platinum award, which wouldn't have been possible without all of your help!

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Another great day at the International Orchid Show at BBC Gardeners World Live!Here are some more photographs of OSGB me...
20/06/2026

Another great day at the International Orchid Show at BBC Gardeners World Live!

Here are some more photographs of OSGB members' plants that made up our display this year. A big thank you to everyone who took part or contributed plants; we couldn't have got our Platinum award without you.

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Here are some photographs of award winning orchids on our display at this year.The first is Dactylorhiza fuchsii 'An...
19/06/2026

Here are some photographs of award winning orchids on our display at this year.

The first is Dactylorhiza fuchsii 'Andrea', which was highly commended as a hardy terrestrial orchid.

The second is Masdevallia coccinea, which was awarded a first class amateur Masdevallia.

Let us know in the comments what your favourite orchid on our stand this year is!



Today marks the first day of the International Orchid Show at Gardeners World Live 2026! Attached is a photo of the fini...
18/06/2026

Today marks the first day of the International Orchid Show at Gardeners World Live 2026! Attached is a photo of the finished OSGB display.

We'd like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to our display with their plants, as well as everyone who helped with setting up.

This year’s show coincides with our 75th Anniversary, so there will be special anniversary merchandise available to buy at the stand.

We hope you can join us at the NEC in Birmingham, and take time to visit our display!



To celebrate the OSGB's 75th Anniversary this year, we will be holding an all day seminar on Saturday 4th July! This wil...
17/06/2026

To celebrate the OSGB's 75th Anniversary this year, we will be holding an all day seminar on Saturday 4th July! This will be at Cole Court (150 London Road, Twickenham, TW1 1HD).

There will be three amazing speakers on the day, as well as numerous practical opportunities to get involved!

●Helen Millner will be talking about orchid pollination
●Philip Seaton will be talking about seed culture and giving a practical guide to growing orchids from seed
●Andrew Bannister will be talking about deflasking to mature orchids.

The first photo is of a tray of Dactylorhiza fuchsii, grown from seed by Philip Seaton.

The second photo is of an orchid seedling grown by Andrew Bannister.

We hope to see you on the day!

The International Orchid Show at Gardeners World Live will be starting in just over one week! The event will run from Th...
09/06/2026

The International Orchid Show at Gardeners World Live will be starting in just over one week! The event will run from Thursday 18th to Sunday 21st June 2026 at the NEC.

The discounted tickets offer is now closed, but you can still get tickets prior to the event or on the door. Click the link in the comments for more information about tickets and everything you need regarding location, transport, hotels and parking.

There will be lectures held throughout the show, the details are as follows:

●Thursday 18th June at 11:30am A Year of Flowering Orchids—Jean Barker
●Thursday 18th June at 1:30pm Meet The Experts Q&A—Members of the RHS Orchid Expert Group
●Friday 19th June at 11:30am Growing our Green Heritage: Developing the Tropical Collection at Birmingham Botanical Gardens—Alberto Trinco
●Sunday 21st June at 1:30pm The Eric Young Orchid Foundation: the Past, the Present and the Future—Mariano Medda

The two above photos are of orchids that were on our display last year - Bulbophyllum claptonense and Encyclia randii.

Don't forget to tag us in your posts during the event, and we look forward to seeing you at our display stand!

Our next event will be on Saturday, 6th June.Doors open at our venue, and the Zoom meeting will start at 13:00. At 13:30...
30/05/2026

Our next event will be on Saturday, 6th June.

Doors open at our venue, and the Zoom meeting will start at 13:00. At 13:30, the OSGB Annual General Meeting will take place. This will be followed at 14:30 by a presentation, Reports from the World Orchid Conference, Dresden.

This event will take place at both Cole Court in Twickenham (150 London Rd TW1 1HD), and on Zoom.

We hope you can join us, and that you enjoy participating in our AGM and watching our talk!

Would you like to help encourage orchid growing, by providing education to others? If so, the Barbara Everard Trust for ...
24/05/2026

Would you like to help encourage orchid growing, by providing education to others? If so, the Barbara Everard Trust for Orchid Conservation can help!

In 2025, the Barbara Everard Trust for Orchid Conversation (BETOC) was proud to award £1500 towards the costs of the Mathers Foundation Seedling House project.

The project was completed in Spring 2026, after which the Foundation's seedlings were moved into their new home.

In the future, the Foundation plans to use the Seedling House in order to collaborate with UK botanic gardens, to add to their collections. They will also continue to hold Guided Tours and Workshops throughout their flowering season and invite horticulturists from botanic gardens to visit them and learn their techniques.

The Mathers Foundation is an award-winning charity, which currently looks after 6 National Plant Collections of orchids in Sussex.

If you would like to apply to BETOC for a grant, here are some things that we can help with:
●Shows
●Publications

And supporting research
●By placing endangered orchids and specialist collections of orchids with suitable collectors/collections
●By supporting ex-situ conservation of orchids by seed raising and ex-situ propagation, both for in-situ reintroduction and introduction into cultivation in the UK.

Furthermore, if you have any orchids that you can no longer look after, BETOC will find new homes for them.

If you'd like to find out more about BETOC, there will be a link in the comments. If you'd like to apply to our trust, please contact our Secretary, Amy, at [email protected].

2026 is almost over for another year.The OSGB display team extends a warm thank-you to everyone who’s contributed to t...
23/05/2026

2026 is almost over for another year.

The OSGB display team extends a warm thank-you to everyone who’s contributed to the success of our exhibit – we couldn’t have done it without you!

Look out for news of the winner of the Librarian’s Cup, awarded to the most popular plant on the exhibit, and we hope to see you at the International Orchid Show at BBC Gardeners ’@
World Live in June.

We hope everyone who attended our stand enjoyed our display, and learned something new about orchids!

The OSGB exhibit at 2026 commemorates both the 75th year since the Society was founded and its first exhibit at RHS Ch...
23/05/2026

The OSGB exhibit at 2026 commemorates both the 75th year since the Society was founded and its first exhibit at RHS Chelsea 66 years ago.

Panels mounted on a central pillar feature some of the society's historical highlights, while a range of orchids, old and new, species and hybrid, showcase the diversity of orchids grown by members, both amateur and professional.

Featured in today's post from left to right are as follows: Epidendrum parksonianum, Paphiopedilum 'Betty Burkham 1', Cymbidium 'Vivian Thomas' and Paphiopedilum Achental.

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