What Was in the Package?

I have only had one orchid in my life and I watered it to death, but I have always had an interest in growing them. I realize that I don't have a greenhouse...so I didn't think that I could have any luck with them. I'm not someone who loves big, blousy (?), bouquets of flowers. I tend to like more simple things. I enjoy flowers like Blackberry Lilies, Daisies, Japanese Anemones, Clematis...a little more than say... Roses. That's why I have always been drawn to Orchids...with their simple flowers. I even thought of buying a couple of artificial ones...but being a gardener...that would never do. One of my favorite garden memories is going to an Orchid greenhouse in the middle of winter. Snow was coming down in buckets, but we had planned to go on a Friday...so we went ahead and made the trip. When we entered the warm, steamy house...snow was falling outside the glass windows. It was like something in a fairy tale...here we were in this beautiful tropical place, during a snowstorm.Well, getting back to my original post. I have searched the internet...looking at Orchids, all most daily. I found that you can grow some of them on a windowsill in an ordinary home. I found that I really didn't know that much about them. I bought a used book on their care and devoured it. So, I took a chance and ordered some. The company was offering a "surprise package" of sorts. For a very reasonable price...five Phalaenopsis Orchids in a group...selections made by the Orchid grower ...a surprise to the customer. I thought about it for a couple of weeks and last week, I threw caution to the wind and took a chance and ordered. The company sent me an email to track this surprise package. They would be sent Fed Ex and would arrive the next day. I couldn't wait. My mind was crazy with...will they send nice ones...will they send some good and some bad...will they be wilted....will they be tiny....will the leaves be broken? Well, yesterday I checked online and tracked the package...it said that it had been delivered. Where was the package? The Fed Ex delivery had put it in our open garage...right on the bench by the door. I carefully carried it into the kitchen. Opened it up and they were wrapped individually in brown paper. I carefully opened them and there they were. I had seven orchids...I counted them again...seven! They had sent me two bonus plants. They are not Phalaenopsis though...I think that they need a greenhouse. I'll give them the same care as I do the others...maybe they will thrive and maybe not. They were all in perfect condition. All wrapped with white, crinkly, stringy, paper.

I had a place ready for them. The only room without a heat vent near the window...is our laundry room- mud room. I have shelves by the window where I put a tray with pebbles and water for humidity. I told the Orchids that they were home now. I didn't do anything but give a couple of them a drink of water. They say not to repot them for maybe even a year...they like crowded roots. I guess that I pampered my first Orchid so much that it died from over care. I think that plants are kind of like raising children...if you have one child...you dote on it and watch everything that child does so closely. Whereas if you have a bunch...you tend to spread out your love and care and not focus quite so much on each one. I'm hoping this is the way it will be with me and Orchids...I'm naturally a nurturer...I'll have to keep my hands off that watering can and limit my watering to once every 7 to 10 days. I remember my Mom with her gold fish, "Goldy" Everytime Mom walked by...Goldy would wag her tail and swim to the top of the fish tank. Mom would throw in a pinch of food. Goldy grew so fat that she had trouble swimming to the top and died of too much "love." I'll keep this story in mind everytime I do my laundry and look to the left at my new babies. Oh, Lord....just help me ignore them a little.

Balisha