POSTCARD N.135 - SINGAPORE

Postcard sent on the 21st March, received on the 3rd April 2024

Postcard image: Orchids grown in Singapore
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Orchids are my favourite flowers, albeit I do much prefer the wild type, not the also amazingly beautiful hybrids that we see in flower stands, which in spite of the unquestionable beauty always look a bit artificial to me.

Anyway collecting orchids is like collecting stamps... the more tye better, they say and there is even cross pollination between the two, since orchids are also a popular philatelic theme (and I have to admit being very happy whenever an orchid stamp crosses my way).

Ravindra was in Singapore and sent me a very nice orchid postcard, with... orchid stamps, what a nice surprise! Bohomȧ  sthoothi, Ravindra!

Ornamental orchids are a huge business, and either for business or pure enjoyment reasons there is a large worldwide community enthralled by the beauty of orchids, that is keen to share experiences and knowledge as a way of fostering knowledge, as expressed in the Mission statement of the World Orchid Conference Trust: "to encourage and improve the science, education, conservation, art, and practice of horticulture as related to the Orchidaceae..."

The 20th WOC conference took place in Singapore in 2011. On the occasion Singapore Post issued a five stamp set (1st local; 45; 65; 80 cent; 2 Dollars) each value being illustrated with a beautiful watercolour of a specific orchid. The "1st local" tariff stamp Ravindra used on this postcard showcases the Vanda Miss Joaquim, the national flower of Singapore, a naturally occurring hybrid, resulting from cross pollination between Papilionanthe teres (Vanda teres) and Papilionanthe hookeriana (Vanda hookeriana).

The pictoric postmark although quite nice is nor very clear and I can only read "...llerton", as the place of dispatch.