indoors

Not a huge amount happening in my orchid world, but I'm always happy to see Phalaenopsis equestris (above). My friend Stephen gave me this Dendrobium 'Sweet Dawn' (below) about nine or 10 years ago, and I've never been able to get it to bloom more than a few flowers at a time. The flowers are very sweetly scented of violets and it is noticeable from a few feet away.

This noid Phalaenopsis came from Whole Foods, when I noticed they were getting rid of cold-damaged plants. One year later, and it is blooming again.

The funny thing about orchids in the grocery store (like WF, TJ's, etc.) is that I'm always amazed at how small they are. I don't think that people realize that when you grow them on for a few years, that some (especially the catts, dens, and oncs) get big and bushy, and put out a lot more flowers than what is first seen. It is sad that many of those plants never get a chance to show their full potential, but get tossed into the trash when they are done. This 'Little Mermaid' had three leaves and three little flowers when I bought it at TJ's. Here it is, not even a year later, and the photo doesn't even show all the flowers.