Orchid Love Affair

As a little girl growing up in the Philippines, I saw my grandmother and my own mom grow Phalaenopsis orchids expertly. My childhood home was surrounded with those white Phals that I didn't really think were anything special. Later on, my mom's collection expanded to the oncidiums, dendrobiums, cattleyas and vandas. I didn't know these varieties back then. I merely called them 'orchids.' I didn't appreciate the beauty of these flowers until much later, after living in the United States for years. They started cropping up in grocery stores and perhaps because they evoked childhood memories, I requested one from my in-laws as a birthday present the first year my husband and I were married. My first orchid in the United States was a fuschia dendrobium orchid that I sadly killed through ignorance. What's the saying about plants needing water like love? Turned out, I drowned the poor dendrobium with love! I sadly let the overwatered plant go and like a dejected lover, I swore I wouldn't have anything to do with its kind anymore but when my mom came to visit, I knew giving her one of those would elicit so much joy that I caved in and not long, killed again as soon as my mom had gone back to her home. There were many more orchids after that that failed to thrive under my 'un-care' that I would just envy friends who succeeded in having these seemingly delicate species bloom and re-bloom. My orchid-envy self couldn't stay away from experimenting once again in acquiring one until one miraculous year, I was able to rebloom a plant! It took as many years as my marriage of caring, uncaring, studying and experimenting until I managed to finally get it with these orchids! Now, I have collected 29 plants, some of which were gifts. Very recently, my poor husband was just speechless that I bought 5 more plants when we don't have space for them anymore. What is it with these orchids that's so irresistible?

Latest orchid acquisition

#orchid #orchidlover #phalaenopsis #cattleya #dendrobium #cymbidium