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I love the Oncidium alliance for their pseudobulbs and fragrances. And sometimes they have striking flowers too, like my Bratonia Shelob 'Tolkien' or Oncidesa Sweet Sugar 'Lemon Drop' or just about any Miltoniopsis. (These photos are all zoomable so I do suggest looking at them full-size for the full effect of the textures- some orchids have a sparkly texture, some have a satin, some a more velvety look.) But among all orchid flowers, I think Phalaenopsis hybrids are the most beautiful. There are some really lovely Phal species, but the hybrids outdo them.
At the center of every Phalaenopsis I see a secret temple. The callus is the altar, beneath the serene face of an angel. The lateral lobes evoke for me the Arc of the Covenant, and the way the wings of the Cherubim sweep forward to embrace and shelter the spirit of G-D. When I gaze into the center of a Phalaenopsis, I like to imagine being a tiny tiny human walking into that temple. Tonight though I thought also of the ecstasy of the pollinator! Imagine being a bee in the embrace of an orchid!
Right now I am surrounded by blooms. I have 11 orchids in various stages of blooming. I actually feel a little overwhelmed by them- I am afraid that because so many are in bloom, I can't appreciate any of them properly. I bought 4 new phals at TJ's last week and actually felt anxiety at that. I do think I would prefer only one or two in bloom at one time, but TJ's is not selling orchids that aren't in bloom or bud.
The newbs (all these photos grow!):
37: Phal. OX Happy Girl '1592'. This is a very well-grown Phal with a lot of branches! One spike even has 4 branches, which is impressive. I love multifloras! This is my least favorite of the bunch, but the sheer volume of flowers and the health and size of the plant, plus the low price, led me to buy it. If I get tired of it someday it will have a good resale value.
38: rose-and-wine NOID harlequin phal. I love the blend of dusty rose, mauve, and wine here.
39: Rosey-pink NOID phal. It has a relatively short spike, which I like, as it can kind of sit beneath the others. The lip is especially bright.
40: Phal. Miki Galaxy '69'. I almost didn't buy this one, but B talked me into it. Photos really don't do it justice, it's very pretty in person and the blooms are almost 4" across! This one also has a good resale value if I ever need to downsize.
So these are my beautiful new phals. I still have other plants in bloom as well:
14- Chingruey's Goldstaff, all 5 blooms from the current rebloom are still intact.
31- Shelob, still blooming amazingly, lots of flowers with great fragrance. 3 spikes in bloom at the moment.
32- Milmiltonia Sunset still has 3 spikes with some blooms on each one.
33 (Sogo Lawrence) still has 1 bloom.
35 (NOID phal) has 5-6. This is the beautiful phal that smells like burnt hair.
36- NOID yellow harlequin, really not sure what to do with this plant. It may be virused, it may not. I will probably end up throwing it away unless I can get a straight answer from someone.
22- still blooming. The last buds opened late last week. The first flowers fell a few weeks ago.
So many blooms! I try to gaze into each plant's blooms every day.
At the center of every Phalaenopsis I see a secret temple. The callus is the altar, beneath the serene face of an angel. The lateral lobes evoke for me the Arc of the Covenant, and the way the wings of the Cherubim sweep forward to embrace and shelter the spirit of G-D. When I gaze into the center of a Phalaenopsis, I like to imagine being a tiny tiny human walking into that temple. Tonight though I thought also of the ecstasy of the pollinator! Imagine being a bee in the embrace of an orchid!
Right now I am surrounded by blooms. I have 11 orchids in various stages of blooming. I actually feel a little overwhelmed by them- I am afraid that because so many are in bloom, I can't appreciate any of them properly. I bought 4 new phals at TJ's last week and actually felt anxiety at that. I do think I would prefer only one or two in bloom at one time, but TJ's is not selling orchids that aren't in bloom or bud.
The newbs (all these photos grow!):
37: Phal. OX Happy Girl '1592'. This is a very well-grown Phal with a lot of branches! One spike even has 4 branches, which is impressive. I love multifloras! This is my least favorite of the bunch, but the sheer volume of flowers and the health and size of the plant, plus the low price, led me to buy it. If I get tired of it someday it will have a good resale value.
38: rose-and-wine NOID harlequin phal. I love the blend of dusty rose, mauve, and wine here.
39: Rosey-pink NOID phal. It has a relatively short spike, which I like, as it can kind of sit beneath the others. The lip is especially bright.
40: Phal. Miki Galaxy '69'. I almost didn't buy this one, but B talked me into it. Photos really don't do it justice, it's very pretty in person and the blooms are almost 4" across! This one also has a good resale value if I ever need to downsize.
So these are my beautiful new phals. I still have other plants in bloom as well:
14- Chingruey's Goldstaff, all 5 blooms from the current rebloom are still intact.
31- Shelob, still blooming amazingly, lots of flowers with great fragrance. 3 spikes in bloom at the moment.
32- Milmiltonia Sunset still has 3 spikes with some blooms on each one.
33 (Sogo Lawrence) still has 1 bloom.
35 (NOID phal) has 5-6. This is the beautiful phal that smells like burnt hair.
36- NOID yellow harlequin, really not sure what to do with this plant. It may be virused, it may not. I will probably end up throwing it away unless I can get a straight answer from someone.
22- still blooming. The last buds opened late last week. The first flowers fell a few weeks ago.
So many blooms! I try to gaze into each plant's blooms every day.
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