Orchid

I’m very proud of the flowers on these little phalaenopsis orchids. I bought the plants (there are two in the pot) at a supermarket in a post-Mother’s Day sale in May 2017. They had a few straggly flowers but clearly were not happy about the long time spent wrapped in plastic, and perhaps were sad at being overlooked by buyers. The flowers fell off, I cut the flower stems back, waited — and nothing happened. Then leaves started growing, a ridiculous number for such small plants, I thought, followed by those gnarly air roots. But flowers? Nope. Then in July/August of this year I went away for three weeks and expected to come back to two dead plants, but instead each plant had a flower stem bravely straggling out. Eureka!

I may not mulch them after all. 😉

Posted as part of Friday Flowers

Square in September: 30

Phalaenopsis orchid flowers

I’m joining Becky B’s square flowers in September series for the last few days of the month. And here’s the last one*. A spray of phalaenopsis orchid flowers, photographed in my living room. They’ve all dropped off now, but lasted for months.

*You may be viewing on the 29th, but in Sydney it’s the 30th.

The David Jones Flower Show 2015

Pom-pom dahlias and orchids.

“David Jones” is a department store with 39 branches around Australia. It was founded in 1838 by a Welsh immigrant named — wait for it — David Jones. The flagship store on Elizabeth Street, Sydney, was opened in 1927. For the past 30 years, David Jones has held a flower show at the beginning of spring, in which the windows and the ground floor are decorated with flowers. The event is as popular and as iconic as the Selfridges Christmas window display in London.

Spanish broom

Pale pink cherry blossoms.

A spray of white orchids.

Orchid.

Orchids and dahlias.

And to put all these flowers into perspective, don’t forget they are displayed inside a department store.

Handbags and cosmetics.

By the cosmetics.

Handbags and a grand piano.

Flowering branches.

By the shoes.

By the elevators.

Towering over the sunglasses.

Perfume nestled among the flowers (these are actually paper flowers).

Wednesday’s Flower: Phalaenopsis orchid

Phalaenopsis ‘Little Miss Elegant’

My dwarf orchid has presented me with the first flower of 2015. It’s a pretty little thing, isn’t it? Not fully open when I took the photo, but now it has three open flowers.

Phalaenopsis ‘Little Miss Elegant’

Two other photos of the same plant:

• Man-eating orchid poised to strike
• Orchid by candlelight

By great coincidence, Ed is looking for white things in Sunday Stills — and he has used orchid photos, too!