By Carleton Varney- Special to the Palm Beach Daily News

It’s certainly the season to deck the halls with boughs of holly. But why not deck the walls with watercolors of orchids and other tropical flora?

One of my favorite artists, Karen Eskesen, will be presenting her portfolios of watercolors of lovely blooms this week at one of my favorite events of the season, the annual Christmas Boutique sponsored by the Garden Club of Palm Beach.

The garden club, by the way, is one of my favorite organizations in Palm Beach. Those who plant gardens and grow flowers are special folk, indeed.

The boutique will take place 10 a.m.-6 pm. Wednesday and Thursday at Johnson Hall in the Dixon Education Building at The Society of Four Arts, 240 Cocoanut Row.

Eskesen will be one of 21 vendors at the boutique. One of Eskesen’s portfolios features 48 orchid images, each 15 by 22 inches. Painted in lovely, soft watercolors, the orchids are in multiple colors, so surely one might be the perfect wall décor for your home — perhaps in a bedroom, a garden room or even a powder room.

Orchids and Palm Beach homes and gardens do seem to go hand in hand. Those of you who visit the Saturday GreenMarket in downtown West Palm Beach have surely seen the booth there filled with orchids to hang or to place on a coffee table.

And don’t forget that orchids can add visual delight to the trees on your property. One has only to drive along South or North Ocean Boulevard to see how orchids can be placed into shrubbery and trees for a most-inviting look.

I’m always amazed at the wide variety of orchid colors. You’ll find green orchids, brown orchids, pink orchids, white orchids, even blue orchids. And if you’re planning to paint one of your rooms and looking for color inspiration, an orchid might be just what you’re after.

In addition to orchids, Eskesen's work also includes wonderfully life-like images of tulips and peonies.

Other vendors will be selling plants, Christmas ornaments, hummingbird feeders, linens, stationery, jewelry - and more.

And after you've visited the boutique, if the weather is fine, take a stroll through the gardens at the Four Arts, which seem particularly lovely this season. We Palm Beachers are so lucky to have such a beautiful and special facility right in our backyard.