Orban’s poinsettia open house is poetry in color

“They should have sent a poet. So beautiful. So beautiful ... I had no idea.”

These words, spoken by space explorer Ellie Arroway in the science fiction movie, “Contact,” are similar to the reactions Marty Orban gets from ordinary Bradenton terrestrials when they first see the sea of 150,000 poinsettias in the greenhouses at Orban’s Nursery, 9601 Ninth Ave. NW.

How to describe a sea of poinsettias? Many try to find words. If they fail, they simply come back to see it again, Orban says.

“A lot come in and they are just amazed to see this much bloom, this much color,” said Orban, owner of Orban’s Nursery, which sells the traditional poinsettia plants to garden centers all over the region at Christmastime and other holidays. “I had one customer who took a picture and then did a painting and gave it to us. A lot of people come back year after year after they see it for the first time.”

A wholesale business that raises poinsettias from cuttings from South America and Mexico in July and August to sell them in November and December, Orban’s is only open to the public one day a year to let folks see what thousands of brilliantly colored plants look like.

That day is Saturday. Orban’s 23rd annual Poinsettia Open House, which has free admission, is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the nursery.

The Orban family will give a portion of the money from sales Saturday to charity.

This year is special because Bill Orban, Marty’s father, died in August at age 93.

“My dad served in the military during World War II,” Marty Orban said. “He was very interested in police and service dogs. We discovered an organization called Valor Service Dogs. They provide service dogs to warriors who have been injured or are having trouble adjusting to civilian life. Valor is our charity this year in honor of dad.”

Years ago, the customers just got to drive through the nursery and take pictures. But now they can buy the plants, from $2 to $50.

Besides classic red, people who visit Orban’s during the open house will also find pink poinsettias, white, marble, which is pink with a white edge, ice punch, a red with a white center and others, Orban said.

Marty Orban called this year’s poinsettia crop “beautiful.”

Several vendors will share the spotlight with the poinsettias at the open house.

“We will have a food vendor who will be here with both breakfast and lunch,” Orban said. “We will have people doing jewelry and other crafts. We have a local guy who keeps bees on his property so we will have local honey. Geraldson's Farm Market, right across the street from us, will be here with fresh produce.”

Tyler Orban, Marty Orban’s 25-year-old son and a manager at the nursery, said life gets exciting when the open house approaches.

“A lot of people come out and everyone is happy to see the plants,” he said. “It’s just a cool thing, especially for people who have never seen this type of thing before.”

This story was originally published November 22, 2016 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Orban’s poinsettia open house is poetry in color."