Orchid Madness!

I adore orchids.  I mean, I really, really ADORE orchids!  They are so beautiful and super easy to grow!  I am fascinated with their blooms - each flower is so unique and the color selection is huge.  I also love that the blooms last a very long time.  True, there is a while after it stops blooming where it is just these long green thick waxy leaves but if you take care of them well, soon you will have new blooms and lots of them.  There is this thrill that works its way inside of me when I see the beginning of a bloom scape starting to grow and then the buds appear and finally the flowers burst forth.  Worth every minute!

Yesterday when I was shopping, I found orchids at WalMart for $14.88.  That is a great price so I had a look.  Turns out the person who was watering didn't know the first thing about orchids.  Each and every one was drowning in a pot of water.  I dumped out each pot and squeezed the orchids as dry as I could so they wouldn't all die.  Then I picked out 3 gorgeous plants to add to my collection which has now risen to 5!  This morning I took a few pictures and here they are.  Such loveliness!  Such intricacies!  Such a generous Creator to fill my day with beauty in hopes I would remember Him!  How could I not think on Him when I gaze upon these . . .

  

It has become my tradition, if you want to call it that, to bring an orchid plant to a friend upon the passing of a loved one or while they are in the hospital, rather than a bouquet.  Lasts longer and the beauty surpasses any cut flower.  Have you ever tried growing orchids?  Do you have a favorite flowering houseplant?  Do tell!