The Cayman Islands’ horticultural excellence is being given a huge public and media boost in the UK during the world-famous Chelsea Flower Show in London this month. Not only will thousands of visitors, including Her Majesty the Queen, be able to appreciate a replica of the Heritage Garden in the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park from 19 to 24 May, but two of the floral exhibits, the Wild Banana Orchid and the Cayman Ghost Orchid, are being auctioned off for charity, with the Blue Iguana Recovery Fund named as one of the beneficiaries.

This is a debut appearance for the Cayman Islands at the Chelsea Flower Show, and it is, to the best of anyone’s knowledge, the first time that two of the Islands’ three endemic orchids have been on display in the UK. It is believed that the Ghost Orchid has never been seen on British soil before.
After the show, the orchids, which have been described by a British horticulturalist as ‘priceless to a collector’, will be auctioned off to the highest bidder through the on-line charity auction site. Proceeds are to be split between two charities the Blue Iguana Recovery Fund, and Make-A-Wish Foundation UK, the UK’s leading wish-granting charity for children and young people fighting life-threatening illnesses.

Make-A-Wish Foundation UK is currently celebrating its 21st anniversary year. Since 1986 Make-A-Wish has granted over 4,800 wishes and aims to grant its 5,000th wish by the end of the anniversary year in June 2008.

“We are honoured to be one of the two charity beneficiaries of this auction of these rare and beautiful orchids. This is a wonderful gift to Make-A-Wish and will help us to grant more magical wishes to children living with life-threatening illnesses,” said Karen England, Director of Fundraising, Make-A-Wish Foundation UK.

Posted: 05|12|08 at 9:53 am. Filed under: UK News.