Amherst Orchid Society Show

  • Post published:02/25/2008
  • Post comments:3 Comments

It snowed and iced last week and the radio today promises another bad storm tomorow. It has been a very very long winter so I was more than usually eager to find flowers and dream of spring.

The Amherst Orchid Society provided the perfect antidote, an exhibition and sale of hundreds of fabulous orchids from the big corsage type cattleyas, all ruffle and frou frou to airy dendrobiums to the elegant phalaenopsis, which is my favorite, and not just because it is billed as about the easiest to grow on a windowsill. The photo is of Phalaenopsis Taisuco Peace ‘Barbara’. I’m also a sucker for pink.

Which is not to say that I can’t appreciate other orchid families like the dendrobiums and this Dendrobium Jesmon Gem. This is a substantial plant with sprays of little white flowers.

Since orchids are famous for having no scent I couldn’t help being surprised by the sight of several orchid on exhibit with big signs saying Smell Me. I had to take the fragrance on faith because I am just getting over a cold and the old sniffer is not in good working order, but others seemed most appreciative.

The orchid show was mobbed, and I was fascinated to see so many people discussing the various plants knowledgeably, and the crowds at the vendor booths were extremely energetic, some settling for tiny plants, others snapping up showy specimens, and others stopping to stock up on news pots and potting mediums, fir bark and sphagnum moss. There was enormous energy in the hall and I realized, once again, that my experience with home gardeners and their vegetable and perennial gardens, is just one subset of a very large gardening world.

This Post Has 3 Comments

  1. Robin (Bumblebee)

    I wish I could have tagged along to pick up some pointers. I have 10 orchids, but only 2 are blooming. 20% doesn’t seem such a good ratio, does it?

    Unfortunately, despite the humidity trays, careful attention to light and watering and such, I am still not getting it. I have two books by my bedside, but by the time I start to read them, I am nodding off.

    Sigh…

    Robin at Bumblebee

  2. theysaywordscanbleed

    i wish i was at that orchid show.

  3. Pat Leuchtman

    I am looking forward to meeting with one of the vendors with the hope that I can bring my ONE Phalaneopsis back into bloom. He and his family own the only cut tropical flower greenhouses in Massachusetts. They are experts! It was a lovely day.

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