{"id":147933,"date":"2026-02-28T00:08:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T00:08:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/147933\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T00:08:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T00:08:33","slug":"photos-inside-the-new-york-botanical-gardens-2026-orchid-dinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/147933\/","title":{"rendered":"PHOTOS: Inside the New York Botanical Garden\u2019s 2026 Orchid Dinner"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"\"<\/a>Subway references and skyline silhouettes translated New York\u2019s grit and grandeur into a beautiful nod to nature. Getty Images for The New York Bo<\/p>\n

On Thursday evening, the New York Botanical Garden took over the Plaza Hotel for its much-beloved Orchid Dinner, transforming the gilded Midtown landmark and its historic ballroom into an immersive world of florals celebrating New York City. The affair, as always, honored the year\u2019s annual exhibition of orchids in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory\u2014in 2026, Mr. Flower Fantastic\u2019s \u201cConcrete Jungle.\u201d The anonymous artist behind the Orchid Show fuses high floristry with pop art and street culture iconography. Mr. Flower Fantastic often wears a mask to conceal his identity, telling the New York Times<\/a> that anonymity is \u201chonestly the most authentic way to share my work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The atmosphere was unmistakably New York, with subway signage and sly city references woven into the tablescapes, each arrangement spilling over and piled high like a skyscraper. Guests arrived in flower-patterned gowns and suits, a nod to the night\u2019s botanical decadence, with some going so far as to sport voluminous leafy halos and intricate flower crowns. The real stars of the evening were, however, the rows of rare orchids up for auction, selected, as is customary, by the New York Botanical Garden\u2019s curators and beautifully spotlit in delicate brown pots. Grand dame of entertaining Martha Stewart<\/a> was rumored to have purchased one for $300, though some fetched as much as $550, with proceeds supporting the NYBG\u2019s research, education and outreach missions.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a>Martha Stewart visits the orchid sale. Getty Images for The New York Bo<\/p>\n

After the cocktail hour, Observer spotted philanthropist Sharon Jacob<\/a>, cultural patrons Steven R. Swartz<\/a> and Tina Swartz<\/a>, director Kevin Cornish<\/a>, supermodel Anne V, actor and singer Alex Newell<\/a>, jeweler Emily P. Wheeler<\/a> and artist Sara Arno<\/a> among the flower-loving revelers. The evening was chaired by philanthropists Maureen K. Chilton<\/a> and Richard L. Chilton<\/a>, Susan Matelich<\/a> and George Matelich<\/a>, Allison Carmichael<\/a> and Trent Carmichael<\/a>. Christopher Griffin<\/a>, a.k.a. Plant Kween, looked particularly resplendent in head-to-toe jewel-toned florals that competed for attention with the towering floral arrangements that paid tribute to New York City iconography.<\/p>\n

A delightful dinner leaned into the floristry theme: napkins cinched with green and yellow vines and a three-course menu\u2014salad, light cod and a chocolate dessert\u2014constructed to resemble delicate flowers. At around 9 p.m., as DJ Runna started his set, guests began drifting from their tables toward the dance floor. \u201cThey\u2019re moving the party really fast, it\u2019s good,\u201d publisher Joan Jedell<\/a> remarked. Within minutes, most revelers had vanished behind the floral skyscrapers, leaving an empty, magical garden in their wake.<\/p>\n

Anne V
\n\"\"\"\"<\/a>Anne V. Getty Images for The New York Bo
\nChristopher Griffin a.k.a. Plant Kween
\n\"\"\"\"<\/a>Christopher Griffin a.k.a. Plant Kween. Getty Images for The New York Bo
\nAlex Newell
\n\"\"\"\"<\/a>Alex Newell. Getty Images for The New York Bo
\nJoseph Augello and Tiffany Skilling
\n\"\"\"\"<\/a>Joseph Augello and Tiffany Skilling. Getty Images for The New York Bo
\nGeorge Matelich, Susan Matelich and Raymond Vargas
\n\"\"\"\"<\/a>George Matelich, Susan Matelich and Raymond Vargas. Getty Images for The New York Bo
\nSharon Jacob
\n\"\"\"\"<\/a>Sharon Jacob. Getty Images for The New York Bo
\nKevin Cornish and Sara Arno
\n\"\"\"\"<\/a>Kevin Cornish and Sara Arno. Getty Images for The New York Bo
\nAmy Goldman Fowler and Cary Fowler
\n\"\"\"\"<\/a>Amy Goldman Fowler and Cary Fowler. Getty Images for The New York Bo
\nMarilyn Kirschner
\n\"\"\"\"<\/a>Marilyn Kirschner. Getty Images for The New York Bo
\nAvalon Ashley Bellos
\n\"\"\"\"<\/a>Avalon Ashley Bellos. Getty Images for The New York Bo
\nEmily Wheeler
\n\"\"\"\"<\/a>Emily Wheeler. Getty Images for The New York Bo
\nSteven R. Swartz and Tina Swartz
\n\"\"\"\"<\/a>Steven R. Swartz and Tina Swartz. Getty Images for The New York Bo
\nIsabel Leeds
\n\"\"\"\"<\/a>Isabel Leeds. Getty Images for The New York Bo
\nElizabeth Mirante and Arthur Mirante
\n\"\"\"\"<\/a>Elizabeth Mirante and Arthur Mirante. Getty Images for The New York Bo
\nMolly Ford and Romane Recalde
\n\"\"\"\"<\/a>Molly Ford and Romane Recalde. Getty Images for The New York Bo<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Petals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Subway references and skyline silhouettes translated New York\u2019s grit and grandeur into a beautiful nod to nature. Getty…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":147934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[62068,62075,1804,62067,62077,62069,14570,62074,62078,62066,232,22642,62071,9,641,24,11,10,1791,62062,8368,62072,62070,62063,62064,62073,62065,62076],"class_list":["post-147933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-alex-newell","tag-allison-carmichael","tag-america-united-states","tag-anne-vyalitsyna","tag-christopher-griffin","tag-emily-p-wheeler","tag-flowers","tag-george-matelich","tag-joan-jedell","tag-kevin-cornish","tag-lifestyle","tag-martha-stewart","tag-maureen-k-chilton","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-botanical-garden","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-nightlife-dining","tag-orchid","tag-parties","tag-richard-l-chilton","tag-sara-arno","tag-sharon-jacob","tag-steven-r-swartz","tag-susan-matelich","tag-tina-swartz","tag-trent-carmichael"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}