In Full Bloom
Jeff Leatham
Artistic Director/Author/Florist
By Bailey Beckett
“Color is the first and most
important aspect of my work,
always,” said Jeff Leatham, on the
eve of his exhibition Kaleidoscope
at the New York Botanical Garden
in February. “I want every gallery
to be a different color experience
for visitors as they move
through them, like looking into a
kaleidoscope.”
Mission accomplished! Leatham’s
event, part of NYBG’s 18th Annual
Orchid Show (which runs through
April 19th), earned rave reviews,
including the New York Times,
which cheered “February in the
city is a notoriously depressing
time. When it’s not frigid and dark,
it’s wet and dim. But at this annual
flower showcase in the Bronx,
springtime seems within reach.”
Before being cut sort short
because of the virus, Leatham
had filled every gallery of the
Enid A. Haupt Conservatory with
thousands of orchids, creating a
“turn of the kaleidoscope” kind
of experience. A Sunrise/Sunset
Tunnel features arches of hanging
orchids in shades of yellows,
oranges, and reds, while he’s filled
the Hanging Baskets and Special
Collections Gallery with a flood
of green and white. Leatham
worked for months with the
Botanical Garden’s senior curator
of orchids, Marc Hachadourian,
to create the exhibit, which also
features a flower close to his
heart: the Vanda Sunanda Jeff
Leatham. That’s right, it’s named
after him.
In Full Bloom
Acclaim is nothing new to the
artist, who has become known as
the rock star florist with an envied
clientele of stars, fashion brands,
and five-star hotels. Tall, strikingly
handsome, and with charisma off
the charts, Leatham has all the
makings of a celebrity himself,
without the attitude. The Utahnative,
who started his career
Polo De’Marco July 2020