Talk About Orchids ...

I purchased these orchids in January using the xmas money from dad (thanks) from Fantasy Orchids in Louisville, CO. There are two different types of orchids here: dendrobriums & cattleyas. The dendrobriums have a lot more blooms & last a long time. The 'Fantasy' orchid had 32 buds on it but only 29 bloomed. It smelled divine, as did 'New City'. I still have blooms on the Green Lantern, continuous blooming since Jan. 24 (when I bought it). I don't know when it originally bloomed but at least 3 months now. Pretty amazing.

And guess what? I just discovered that there are wild orchids on Lesvos (the island in Greece that ET is from). Check out it out here.

There is also some great wild bird watching on Lesvos!

LC. Volcano Sunset ‘Yuki’

Lc. Burgundy Delight


Den. Oriental Smiles ‘Fantasy’

Den. Green Lantern

Blc. Chia Lin ‘New City’

Talk about orchids ...

One of my very favorite blogs to read is The Lazy Organizer. Oh my heck; she kills me. She has a wonderful regular post on Tuesdays called "Talk About Tuesday!" Clever, eh? Anyway(s) [for the StL crowd] TAT is "a blog carnival where [bloggers] write a post of something [they] want to share or talk about and link them all together here on [Lazy's] blog. It’s a great way to get to know other bloggers and make connections in the blogosphere." It reminds me of show & tell. So without further ado ...

ORCHIDS

Where to begin ... my paternal grandmother raised/grew orchids at her home in small town IL. I didn't really pay much attention to them unless there was a bloom & only then if there was a smell. (An amazing amount of orchids have no smell.)

My father had a number of said orchids in our basement in a StL suburbia. It was a very elaborate set-up. I wish I had a picture. Imagine a dank, dark basement, the walls covered with heavy duty clear plasic and two sets of grow lights over a wooden tray Pop had built about 4'x12'. Along the top of this were hoses that had wholes where the water would come out in a mist. (Yes - I tried to find the official name but to no avail.) My brother & I were asked to turn on the water now & then. But no appeal to me whatsoever.

Many years pass ... Pop retired from his job & moved to IL. He brought his remaining orchids to me when I lived in KC. Shortly thereafter I moved to CO and gave the few pots I had to a friend. Pop came to visit me in the big house (i.e. has a yard) and gave me the last remaining orchid. I promptly let it die.

Dad visited this past Spring & we drove to Louisville to check out Fantasy Orchids. He graciously bought me my first orchid, Potinara Creation 'Summer Choice.'

Beautiful isn't it?

A few moons pass and Dad visited again. On a lovely September Saturday we decided to head back up to the orchid shop to have the orchid repotted. That didn't need to happen & I left with three new plants. Oh my heavens!

Blc. Anna Balmores 'Convex'

Blc. Edgard Stars 'Yen'

I thought it might be appropriate to finally watch the DVD that we'd purchased earlier. Very helpful & interesting. I loved my new acquisitions and even brought them to work to show off the beautiful blooms. What a dork I am!

The new & improved Blc. Dora Louise Capen 'Lea'

Two weeks later ... Dora & Yen weren't quite growing right. Dora's blooms were quickly fading after being open less than a week and one of Yen's leaves was turning black. I was very worried and took another trip up there to find out what was up! Yen was OK. Not a very good bloomer & sometimes the leaves die off; yet no worries. Dora - problem plant - Fantasty Orchids generously exchanged my first plant for the one pictured. Gorgeous, fragrant 6" bloom! Loving it!

And I came home with one more.

Den. Ladda 'Mini Pink'

Oh the loveliness of the blooms, the heady fragrances in the kitchen. Could I be any happier? (maybe with a new puppy to walk *Do you see a theme building?*)

Needless to say I was on the wagon for a whole 5 weeks. I fell off this past Saturday. In my defense I needed to have Dora repotted and just tell me who can't bring another beauty home!

I won't tell how many I bought...

Or how much money I spent... (It's funny how I can't bring myself to spend the $$ for a iTouch but sure no problem for orchids - priorities.) BTW my love I didn't spend the same amount as an iTouch.

Or how long I spent creating a very DORKY spreadsheet to track my purchases & their blooming habits. Don't worry, you'll see it soon I fear.

I'll post more pictures when I have some blooms. Too bad there is no smell feature on blogs.