Our Society

Our History.

The Bournemouth, Poole & District Orchid Society was originally formed in 1959, adopting Bournemouth Orchid Society as a more manageable name in 1984.  From small beginnings the Society has become one of the largest amateur orchid societies in the UK, drawing its membership from a wide area across the south coast of England.

We are much involved in the wider orchid world, primarily with exhibits of members' plants at other shows for which we have gained a solid reputation for consistent high quality.  As an active member of the British Orchid Council we have exhibited at every BOC Congress since 1980, in addition organising and hosting the 14th Congress in 1992 in Bournemouth. We have also attended and shown at every Newbury, Peterborough and Malvern International Orchid Shows, and on several occasions at the Royal Horticultural Society in London. We’ve also taken part in a number of European and World Orchid Conferences, also exhibiting at the World Orchid Congress in Dijon.

The Society and its members have won many awards over the years, for displays (including Best in Show - multiple times!), for individual plants, as well as for photography and even orchid website design.

The Society today.

With a Society base of over 70 members who range from 9 to 89 years old, we’re proud to hold steady our position as one of the largest orchid societies in the UK.

We’re passionate about knowledge sharing, and at our monthly meetings, held on Friday evenings at 7.00pm at the BNSS (Bournemouth Natural Science Society - Lansdowne) where we invite experienced lecturers and experts to speak. Our bi-annual shows are held in February and September (currently at the Allendale Centre, Wimborne), and draw a large attendance of both members and the wider public, where we hold competitions, demonstrations and invite traders to sell from their UK-based nurseries.

• Traders that provide welcome and regular support are Burnham Nurseries Ltd, Orchid Accessories, Laurence Hobbs Orchids, Orchid Botanics, Steve Neville Studio Ceramics and an Artist and Paphs grower Chris Jones

The society is keen to support, and indeed develop, our mutual associations with other prominent orchid organisations - The Mathers Foundation and The Eric Young Orchid Foundation, based in Jersey. Also, McBean’s orchids established in 1879 and their largest collection of  awarded Cymbidiums in the world as well as the world famous Charlesworth Odontoglossum orchid collection.

Also our member Simon Pugh-Jones carries out important conservation projects by propagating orchid species from seeds. So, if you'd  like to find out more, click here to see Simon's website or read his blog.

If you’d like to find out more about becoming a member of the Bournemouth Orchid Society, click here. Alternatively, feel free to reach out and contact us directly. See you soon!

History of the BOS website

We’re proud to say we were one of the first orchid societies in the world to have our own website, launched in 1992, designed and built by Neville Roberts. This was then replaced by a newer website in 2008, developed by Graham Smith - followed by the one you see here (and are using!) today