Orchids

The first one for me was in high school, probably it was at the prom. It came in a clear plastic box and was so ornate, almost bizarre looking, that I could hardly believe it was a real flower. It was delicate green with dark burgundy stripes and it lasted for a whole week in the refrigerator before it started to decompose. It was an orchid.

One of the best things about life in Florida is that orchids will grow here, outside, unattended for the most part. Of course, they do better when cared for, but even I with my frequent lapses in attention to my plants, even I can keep orchids alive. April is a very good month for orchids. They bloom and stay beautiful for weeks.

Here are some pictures of my favorites. I get to see them every day, hanging in the pergola outside my dining room window.

 

 

 

I bought this orchid having not seen it in bloom.  I waited for a whole year before coming out one morning and seeing this flower stalk – not at all what I expected.  Since then, it has bloomed every spring and looks like this

 

 

A neighbor has an “orchid wall” and I use it as an example of what they can look like when they are carefully tended.

Anyone else have a favorite flower this spring?