April 2021: What's Blooming in the Office?

Submitted by Chris Thomas on Thu, 04/22/2021 - 12:21

 

What could be sadder than a group of orchid aficionados who have blooming plants and nowhere to show them off?

This week, the Treasure Valley Orchid Society was supposed to have its 2021 Orchid Show & Sale – which, of course, didn’t happen because of COVID.

Instead, we had a Zoom meeting and, one by one, aimed our cell phones at our blooming orchids or pushed the plants gingerly toward our laptop cameras.

Each person gave information about a favorite orchid and how they care for it.

The meeting topic was a nod to the American Orchid Society, which celebrates its 100th birthday in April. According to AOS, its first orchid show – “The Great Orchid Exhibition” – was held in Boston on May 8-11, 1924.

I’ve got more than a half-dozen blooming now, and chose the showiest to share – a Cymbidium Chen’s Ruby ‘Golden Tiger,’ seen above, with a whopping four spikes of lightly scented flowers.

I love this plant. It lives outdoors all summer and fall, under a tree. Minimal maintenance, maximum gorgeousness! It would have been a sure award-winner.

I’m certain our get-together this week didn’t rival that long-ago AOS event. But it still was fun, and it represents something bigger than COVID-19 – the sheer determination to get back to normal, just as our plants are doing, blooming blissfully whether or not there’s anyone around to admire them.