Display House, Eric Young Orchid Foundation

Eric Young (1911–1984), described by the American Orchid Society as a keen orchid grower and benefactor, discovered orchids as a teenager. His first collection was lost during the Second World War; a move to Jersey and a successful business career later allowed him to build up one of the most notable living orchid collections of his day. In the early 1980s he planned a foundation devoted to the plants down to the last detail, set its guidelines, secured new premises and began building. He also endowed a micropropagation centre at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Florida.

The foundation that carries his name celebrates forty years in 2026, an anniversary noted by the Government of Jersey when it took part in European Garden Days. Its purpose has not changed: to raise new hybrids without commercial pressure, and to share that work through lectures abroad, visits to the Jersey site, school workshops and displays at the major shows. Recognition has followed, with a gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show, two Royal Horticultural Society awards announced in 2020, and an Eric Young Trophy presented in London in 2015 at a show that brought together sixty exhibitors from twelve countries.

The site lies in the parish of Trinity, at Victoria Village, along La Rue du Moulin de Ponterrin. OpenStreetMap maps the main building as a greenhouse, while the foundation itself speaks of a purpose-built display facility, the Display House, separate from the growing houses where seedlings from the hybridisation programme are brought on. The Orchid Society of Great Britain, which arranged a visit in 2023, describes numerous greenhouses with plants ranged on tiered staging and a landscaped display house whose arrangement changes through the year. The Government of Jersey counts hundreds of orchids in flower in the Display House and thousands more plants visible from a viewing gallery.

Everything is on one level: all indoor areas are wheelchair-friendly, and a visitor centre brings together ticketing, a small foundation shop and a drinks counter. The surrounding gardens, partly paved and mostly grass, frame the buildings and double as a picnic area. The Display House was described in spring 2026 as newly revitalised.

The collection serves both for display and for breeding. The genera named by the Orchid Society of Great Britain are Cymbidium, Phragmipedium, Odontoglossum (now placed in Oncidium) and Miltoniopsis; the foundation's own posts also show Cattlianthe, Coelia, Dendrobium and Oncidium, as well as slipper orchids such as Phragmipedium China Dragon. According to the same society, the foundation's plants have won more Royal Horticultural Society certificates and gold medals than any other grower since the society was founded. Visit Jersey stresses the preservation of historic plants alongside the foundation's own hybrids, backed by decades of research and record-keeping. The Display House shows hundreds of plants in flower, refreshed through the seasons, which is why the foundation promises something different at every time of year.

The foundation stands inland at Victoria Village in the parish of Trinity; brown tourist signs lead there from the main roads and parking is free. Bus route 21 runs straight into the village, and two signed cycle routes pass close by. The foundation suggests allowing about an hour, though visitors may linger in the gardens or at the picnic area. The season runs from February to November, and since 2025 the foundation has joined European Garden Days in early June with guided tours and workshops. Durrell wildlife park, served by bus routes 3 and 13, is half an hour's level walk away.