Bronx, NY 2009
“Brazilian Modern,” was designed to display orchids in the spirit and tropical vibrancy of modern Brazil. Within a controlled environment, for a fixed duration of time, more than 8,000 orchids were theatrically displayed, dripping like candelabras, clinging to walls, and abounding with blooms. Vibrantly color-blocked living orchid walls, epiphytic orchid structures, and signature Roberto Burle Marx-inspired cubist planters were designed to embellish Brazilian Modern, using plants as art, in a museum of living things.
The New York Botanical Garden’s seventh annual orchid show offered a new design, a new experience, all created by a new designer, as the previous six were done by in-house horticulturalists. The Orchid Show: Brazilian Modern, which ran from February 28th through April 12th, 2009, took over 100,000 visitors on a stroll through a contemporary Brazilian garden under the roof of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, as it transformed into a tropical rainforest with a staggering array of species.
For Raymond, being a student and friend of the late, great Roberto Burle Marx, has given him a lifetime’s inspiration and insight into the design principles and details of the “Father of the Modern Garden.” This design applied his influence in an effort to achieve a uniquely Brazilian orchid exhibition, where color is displayed in great masses, the way it often occurs in nature, with plants chosen to emphasize their character.
An 8 x 17 foot mosaic mural of 1,325 painted ceramic tiles, was temporarily exhibited and suspended vertically above the reflecting pool. The colors of the mural reflected in the dark, still waters, as the masses of orchids, mostly in reds and oranges, were on the ground plane with yellows suspended from the vertical columns of the trunks. Oncidiums dominated at eye level, chosen for their fine texture and profusion of blooms.
Raymond Jungles studied and created visual points of interest in an unconventional manner throughout this very linear space. Monolithic benches accommodated those who wished to pause and contemplate. The bench itself had a black, reflective surface, echoing that of the pond, which was added by Raymond. Existing tropical specimens of immense variety were calmed by the introduction of large swaths of Philodendron Weeks ‘red hybrid’, chosen for its bold texture and mottled red emerging leaves.
With uncluttered space and clearly perceived dimensions, the greenhouse became enlarged by a repetition of black reflective water. Four grand-scale 6-foot diameter chandeliers were topped with Philodendron giganteum, selected for its enormous leaves and bold texture, beneath which fuchsia, purple and lavender orchids cascaded. The orchid cascade tapered-the strongest colors at the top, with the most vibrant large blooms, and the finest textured lightest values in color range beneath. These chandeliers reflected in the water surface below, their reflections slowly spinning as the visitors circumnavigated the pond.
A 12 inch wide by 8 foot high by 25 foot long panel, which is a common Burle Marx design element, featured a large recessed Staghorn fern rectangle. The balance of its surface was covered in over 600 white Phalaenopsis orchids. An occasional Alcantarea odorata at varying levels and facets sprung from these epiphytic sculptures. The remainder was completely covered in orchids from a purple/lavender color range.
Tubular epiphytic plant sculptures with five to seven Alcantarea imperialis and silver Tillandsia orchids were perched at varying levels. Several Alcantarea spilled to the ground and across the gallery, as happens in nature.
Cubist-inspired vertical planters 13 feet high billowed with Alcantarea imperialis and Alcantarea imperialis ‘rubra.’ Several reproductions of acrylic paintings, from Raymond’s personal collection, were displayed on stretched fabric, representing another dimension of what the artist’s creativity was able to produce.
This temporary garden showed the freedom, the boldness, and the clarity of contemporary Brazilian garden design, where plants are often massed together or set apart like treasured objects.
There were 36 orchid show tours led by 15 docents, with over 700 visitors participating in the tours. 6,000 orchids were used in total, with 50 natural genera, 20 man-made genera, 100 natural species, and 500 hybrids and cultivars.