Duchess of Cambridge

Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, have just

completed a five day tour of India and Bhutan.  Duchess Kate wore at least 

three outfits per day, designed by British, Anglo-Indian, Indian-American, 

and American designers.  If you missed them, here are some.

The arrival in Bhutan was simple.

They posed in front of the Taj Mahal, with Kate wearing a dress with an

Indian motif, designed by an Anglo-Indian designer.

William and Kate visited a number of locations with children,

and Kate wore a simple, comfortable dress by an Indian designer. 

For a gala evening with stars of Indian cinema invited,

Kate wore this blue dress by English designer Jenny Packham.

The beading was done by dressmakers in India.

Another day they visited slum children in New Delhi and sat

cross-legged on the floor with them.  This long dress allowed her

to be comfortable, yet covered.

Five of the Duchess' dresses.

Close-ups show the beautiful detail on the dresses.

The Duchess often wears these nude-colored heels.

A beautifully patterned dress for a formal dinner.

William and Kate laid a wreath in honor of the victims of the

terrorist bombing in Mumbai.

On several occasions, Kate joined children in sporing activities.

Here she is about to play soccer in high wedgies.

In Bhutan, Kate wore a dress inspired by native Bhutanese

dresses.  She participated in an archery event.

The King and Queen of Bhutan (who recently became parents for the first time)

seemed to enjoy their visit with William and Katherine.

For a formal dinner at the British Embassy in

New Delhi, Kate chose this bright red dress.

For an evening of native dancing, Kate chose this green gauze dress.

For a private dinner with the King and Queen of Bhutan, Kate chose a dress

by American designer,  Tory Burch.  Those are all hand embroidered flowers

covering the dress.

I think she looked great every place she went.

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Orchid Show

The Orchid Show in Fort Lauderdale usually takes place this time of the year.  In the center

of the large auditorium hall are 24 large displays of thousands of orchids in exotic

arrangements.    Then around the outside walls are display booths for hundreds of

orchid growers from Florida and many other places, including Hawaii, to sell thousands of

gorgeous flowers.  Prizes are awarded to "best" in various categories.

Here are are some of my favorites.

"Dotted Penelope"

There are thousands of varieties of orchids, and horticulturalists are constantly developing

new "cultivars."  So you will see flowers in every size from very tiny to very large, 

and in every color and color combination imaginable.

"Explosive Orange"

Some orchids have no odor, but many have beautiful and distinctive aromas.

Some of the orchid nurseries specialized in aromatic orchids and invited you to

smell their many beautiful flowers.

"Astral Bianca"

People come to orchid shows prepared - with special carts to carry away the new specimens

they purchase.  They know their varieties and are often looking for a particular flower

shape or color.  Each nursery specializes and they seem to be very cooperative in

sending you to another dealer who has your special kind of flower.

This is one of the 24 displays.  Orchids are the only flowers included.  Each year

there is a theme, and this year it was "An Orchid Masquerade."

"Allura"

Some of the orchids look like space ships or aliens.

"Raspberry Pizzazz"

A large cluster of raspberry orchids was a prize winner.

Orchids are the largest group of flowering plants in the world and are found on every

continent except Antarctica.  There are currently 29,800 recognized varieties.

"Archimedes"

"Japanese Fan"

A delicate pink frilled variety.

"April Morning"

A large display with many varieties of white orchids.

"Butterscotch Swirl"

I first met this bearded variety at Longwood Gardens; it comes only in green.

This was a prize winner for clusters of yellow.

"Mother's Corsage"

Many orchids do not grow in soil but hang from trees, and their roots are able to absorb

moisture from the air.  Booths were filled with gorgeous plants just hanging from hooks.

There were also booths selling pots and other equipment.

This was one of the grand prize winners.  All dealers tell you that orchids are very easy

to grow; they bloom several times per year; and they hold their blooms for months at a time.

A display emphasizing yellow orchids.

"Purple Sunset"

A large prize winning display jam-packed with hundreds of orchids.

A lavender and purple dendrobium.

"Lemon Cherry"

One of the booths offering orchids for sale.  Most plants sold for $15 - $45 dollars,

although there were a few very special and unusual varieties which sold for more.

A display emphasizing blue and lavender orchids.

"Angel Stars"

These plants were $12 apiece.

All of these photos were taken with my little automatic Nikon Coolpix camera,

hand-held and using only natural light, no flash.  They show what you can achieve

with little digital cameras these days.

When shooting indoors like this, I try to shoot against a solid dark color background;

it makes the photo clearer and more dramatic.

A large cluster of "Queen Angelicas"

A beautiful cherry-and-lemon orchid.

This is "Marigold," a very special color.  Michele Obama wore a spectacular

dress this color at one evening function.

Raspberries-and-Cream is another popular color combination.

"Blue Electra"

Spotted orchids came in many colors.

"Dream Nighty"

This was a new cultivar in marigold, which only one dealer had since they had developed it.

It is slightly edged in red.   "Margery"

Some of the displays used dramatic lighting on their flowers.  These are the Paphiopedelium variety.

"Purple Buttons"

"Star Crossed Lovers"

"White Froth"

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