But how did I come by this talent? Well, I've always been enamored with growing things. I love the flowering process of plants. I find the end result, the bloom, to be the reward of loving care over time. So I am one of those people who, if you give me a plant, will keep it forever and find joy in seeing it bloom or blossom every year or season.
And people love to give orchids as gifts. They are so elegant, and the flowers live for such a long time. But when they expire, getting an orchid to bloom again is quite difficult. They are tempermental beauties, and it takes just the right blend of watering, air and bark conditions, light, and fertilizer to see their flowers come back year after year. It can, however, be done.
At work I have a reputation for bringing people's orchids back to life. Folks at universities (for some reason) get orchid flower arrangements as gifts all the time, and once the blooms die I have seen many a spent orchid plant in the trash. So my habit has become that if I see a spent plant on someone's desk, I ask what they plan to do with it. If they don't know how to revive it, I offer to do so for them. All it takes is a few months in my kitchen window and some informed tender loving care. I've done this for many people over the years, but some moved away or just didn't want the plants back once I revived them. I repotted those, and they now sit in my kitchen window peretually blooming and reminding me of their sweet former owners.
I hear through the rumor mill that another spent orchid at work is about to join my collection. My sister says she might bring me one of hers as well. I am so excited to know my three little bloomers will make new friends this summer!
And here, because you just have to see them, is a shot of my three lovelies in their favorite south-facing spot on my kitchen sink. Seeing them every day makes me so happy.
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