The First Meeting

It was a beautifully humid, May 24th in 2013.  A coworker and I went to the Plant District, which in NYC means the high 20's off of 7th Avenue.  We rummaged through the many shops on 28th Street, and  after a couple of hours, of course, he found what he was looking for.  In the same shop, across from the cash register was this display of adorably cute little orchids in clear soft pots.  I just melted.  I always wanted to care for an orchid, but had not considered one due to their reputation of being 'fussy' and 'difficult'.  Also, I must confess I got a hand me down one years ago from a previous employer.  It was a beautiful white orchid plant and once the blooms fell off, she let me have the plant.  I gleefully took it home only to have it wilt and die before my eyes.  I tried everything; cutting down the rotting roots, repotting, etc. So from then on, I too, joined the many who judge all orchids as being too difficult to deal with and gave up on ever buying one.

So what's changed since then? Well, for one, information is now so much more readily available than it was 20 years ago when I first attempted this, and since then, I have also grown other plants successfully so I feel more confident in my 'green thumb'.  So, I did end up buying one of the flirty magenta orchids that were displayed at the plant store.  Unknowingly, I purchased a Doritaenopsis Sogo Vivien:



First Week in the Office

which has recently been reclassified as a Phalaenopsis Sogo Vivien.  She has been very patient with me as I researched and learned how to take care of her.  I named her Audrey 2.  Yes, after the plant from the Little Shop of Horrors.  The unopened buds have a similar appearance...dontcha think?