Orchids top the bill at Modderfontein talk

Set in the most beautiful location just 13 km outside Dullstroom, Verloren Valei Nature Reserve is home to a wondrous array of floral delights, not the least of them being wild orchids.

These floral wonders will be the subject of the next Modderfontein Conservation Society (MCS) evening talk by Mr Alan Abel of the Witwatersrand Orchid Society. The talk will take place in the small hall at the Modderfontein Town Hall, at 1 Casino Road at 7.30pm on February 20.

“Mr Abel is the foremost authority on the orchids of Verloren Valei, where he has studied and recorded the orchids, their habitats and flowering periods over the past 19 years,” said Mr Ellen van Dongen, the Chairman of the MCS. He said it was particularly appropriate that they were having the talk as the World Orchid Conference is to be held in Johannesburg in September.

“Also, the Orchid has undertaken a project to work with the MCS to record the varieties of orchids occurring naturally in the Modderfontein Reserve,” said the chairman.

Born and raised in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Mr Abel developed an interest in orchids after visiting an orchid show in the late 1970’s. He now grows about 400 orchids in a greenhouse and in his garden in Westdene, Johannesburg.

He has been a member of the Witwatersrand Orchid Society since 1989 and has served two terms as president. Among his accolades, Mr Abel’s plants have been the Grand Champion at the Witwatersrand Orchid Society’s shows on three occasions and in 2000, one of his plants was voted the South African Orchid Society’s Orchid of the Year.

Visitors are welcome. An entrance fee of R30 is charged to help cover expenses. For more information, phone Ms Carol Sherwood on 011 443- 4114 or 082 906 5794.

Or visit the society’s web page at www.modderconserve.org.za