A Rose By Any Other Name...
About five years ago, I was given an orchid for helping out one of my neighbors. It was a pale, delicate yellow orchid. I was thankful, though at the back of my mind I was already worrying about what to do with it. I knew they had to be treated like the fragile plants they are and though I am an avid houseplant advocate (currently with 17 wonderful plants about the house), I knew zip about orchids, other than that scary fragile factor.
The plant kept that lovely, single yellow bloom for many days and I marveled every time I stopped to admire it. I read up on how to care for them, bought orchid food, followed all the instructions on how to water, when to water...but it never bloomed again. After about two years, I finally got a large, new leaf, though alas, no flowers. Over time I got two more leaves, healthy and green, but again, no blooms. Ah well, the leaves were really pretty, so I was good with that.
It sits on the credenza in the bedroom with just enough light/shade and a slightly cooler temperature than the rest of the house. Last week as I was dusting I noticed an odd skinny stalk-like thing poking up between two leaves. No, it can't be! Can it?
Every morning now I get up, open the blinds and look at my plant. And every morning I'm convinced it will have shriveled up and died, or just vanished into thin air, or some other dire catastrophe because, man, five years is a long time to wait for a flower. I had half convinced myself it was just a weird leaf sprouting.
This morning. I opened the blinds, turned...and oh my, overnight a beautiful little yellow orchid.
There's another wee bud too; I could actually get two flowers. After five years. And yes, in case you're wondering: it was so worth the wait...
The plant kept that lovely, single yellow bloom for many days and I marveled every time I stopped to admire it. I read up on how to care for them, bought orchid food, followed all the instructions on how to water, when to water...but it never bloomed again. After about two years, I finally got a large, new leaf, though alas, no flowers. Over time I got two more leaves, healthy and green, but again, no blooms. Ah well, the leaves were really pretty, so I was good with that.
It sits on the credenza in the bedroom with just enough light/shade and a slightly cooler temperature than the rest of the house. Last week as I was dusting I noticed an odd skinny stalk-like thing poking up between two leaves. No, it can't be! Can it?
Every morning now I get up, open the blinds and look at my plant. And every morning I'm convinced it will have shriveled up and died, or just vanished into thin air, or some other dire catastrophe because, man, five years is a long time to wait for a flower. I had half convinced myself it was just a weird leaf sprouting.
This morning. I opened the blinds, turned...and oh my, overnight a beautiful little yellow orchid.
There's another wee bud too; I could actually get two flowers. After five years. And yes, in case you're wondering: it was so worth the wait...
If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly,
our whole life would change
~ Buddha
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