Orchid Intermission

At the height of my relationship with orchids, i deposit all of them in my sister's front yard in town.   Her old boarding house has a wide front yard that she likes because of her dogs. The dogs can play unrestricted on that front lawn, with nothing on it but grasses. When the orchids came the area was devoted for the orchids and the dogs were left inside the house, put on leash when they went out walking. I always have 1 or 2 orchids from my travels to the regions.  They are expensive then because i always wanted to have the prettiest. Hybrids are of course more expensive, with more showy blooms.

I was fascinated with Vanda then, most specially the terete types. They are easier to grow, can be left open to direct sun without scorching. They are all mounted on Gliricidia sepium trunks for easier handling and aesthetic concerns. My sister learns fast, she was able to grow them well and they easily bloomed to the neighbors' and passers' by delight. Nobody passed by the street without slowing down to watch the orchid blooms. Even the roots look so beautiful.

Eventually the driftwoods decayed, the orchids got old, and health dwindled without enough sustenance. My enthusiasm also decreased for maybe it is already fully assuaged. Then my sister got so much responsibilities in school. Eventually, they got sick, i was also sick for sometime and they eventually succumbed to bad health. Only very few of them remained, which were just left on their own untended. The left-overs were brought home and my sister built her own house near our old one. I forgot all about them when last week this one bloom caught my attentionb. I think it is very beautiful. I didn't remember that there is this color before!

Not all the buds opened yet, but it represented a lovely breed. It evoked some past memories of our old relationship and it didn't stop to evoke new delight. 

The close-up of the individual flower is beautiful, don't you believe me?

This one is called tiger orchid because of the design on its leaves. Actually, it is Phalaenopsis schilleriana, native to the Philippines. It is mounted on a lanzones tree, only watered when remembered and left on its own. Sometimes the leaves were all eaten by a flat short caterpillar, which i remove when i see them. There are only 2 plants left here. The cold and long nights last Dec-Feb induced them to flower. Sometimes the flower buds are also eaten by some unknown larvae. I am glad these 2 inflorescences at least continue blooming. They are also lovely and look so special.

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