MY FIRST ORCHID FLOWER HAS OPENED AT LAST ~

Posted ~ 1 October 2015 ~

I have been offline for three days, and in the meantime, my very first indoor orchid has opened at last!  I am absolutely delighted!  I have two garden forms of orchids which I love, but I have always wanted one of these magnificent indoor ones. 

A while back, I was given four pots of orchids by my sister in law, Irene; because they were very ill and she knows I have green fingers.  They were very dried out and shrivelled up when I got them.  I looked up on the Internet how to look after them, and all I have done is made sure to water then once a week in summer and about once every two weeks in winter.  I’d pour a basin full of lukewarm water and immerse the pot into the water for a few minutes to make sure the wood chips absorbed water.  Then I’d drain the pots and put them back on the shelf in my bathroom.  They have plenty light and seem to love the humidity in the room.  Every now and then I wipe the dust off of the leaves with a damp cloth. I still need to study up a bit more to make sure these stay healthy. 

I knew when I first received them, that the one was a purple orchid because of the colour of the dead flowers on it, and it was my best one, because it was already sending out a new flower stalk a few months after I received it.  But when my daughter was married in March, and because her wedding theme was purple, I decided to give it to her and a second one also that had just started a little flower stalk, leaving myself with the two most bedraggled plants that weren’t flowering yet.
 
When I gave my daughter those best ones, I said to her, that if one was white, please let me have it back and I’ll swap for one of my others... I always wanted a white one... and lo and behold, the one that has flowered for me first is white.  I honestly see this as a gift from Heaven, because I gave the other healthier, flowering ones away to my daughter with so much love, when I could easily have given her the sicker ones instead. 

I really do believe that what goes around comes around and I’m so grateful I gave her the best ones at the time.

Just look how beautiful this flower is and it’s practically the size of the palm of my hand... absolutely magnificent!  I’m so happy.  My other orchid buds look quite different, so I am in for another surprise... I will share that flower with you when it opens too.  I only have space in my bathroom for the two, so I'm going to cherish what I've got and enjoy them for as long as they are mine.

I love the beauty of God’s creations... what a blessing to have one of my very own orchids in my home.  I feel very grateful and inspired by its beauty. 

~ Pana