Left: Creamy Cymbidium 'Lionello' spill out of a bridal bouquet accented by frothy astilbe and buds of society garlic, and finished with white-silk satin ribbon.

Below, from left: 1. A chartreuse-and-white Paphiopedilum, or lady's slipper, a long-lasting flower named for the pocketlike petal that resembles the tip of a woman's shoe. 2. A star-shape crimson Odontoglossum. This genus of orchid has surged in popularity in recent years partly for the remarkable variety of colors and textures it offers. 3. Vanda orchids, like this vibrant magenta-and-white blossom, are beloved for their large, showy petals -- flat and round and bursting with glorious color. 4. A tiny, ruddy orange Vanda 'James Storie' orchid with slender petals makes a wonderful accent flower. 5. A ruby-red-and-white Oncidium. The plant's long arching stems of dense, ruffled blossoms draw poetic comparisons to everything from a cascade of confetti to a row of dancing girls. 6. This deep, saturated yellow is just one color of Dendrobium's kaleidoscopic range. 7. A snow-white Phalaenopsis. The orchid's name comes from the Greek word for moth, "phalaina," a reference to its wing-shape petals. 8. An intricately patterned Phalaenopsis. 9. A gaily polka-dotted red-and-white Odontoglossum. 10. A rich, buttery-yellow Cymbidium. The name alludes to the shape of the blossom's lip; botanists thought it resembled the hull of a ship and so borrowed the Greek word for boat, "kymbe." 11. Cattleya, perhaps the most spectacular and best known of all orchids. Its large, flamboyant blooms are the ones most often called to mind by the name "orchid."