Saturday Morning in the Orchid Center

Rhyncholaelia digbyana

The Orchid Center has three full time staff. We work weekends in rotation. Weekend duty always feels like Thanksgiving morning to me: a mad rush to make things perfect because company's coming in three hours! Up before dawn, drive to work in the dark, unlock the greenhouses, water, deadhead, clean up fallen leaves, sweep, fill ponds, water some more, remove faded plants, bring out new plants in time for our first visitors at 9 am. When I'm lucky, there's time for a few early morning pictures.

Anguloa uniflora, one of the Andean Tulip Orchids. The flowers smell like wintergreen

Anguloa flowers appear simultaneously with the new shoots

Lockhartia obtusata, a Braided Orchid from Panama and Colombia. Lockhartia flowers produce oil as a food reward for their bee pollinators

Paphiopedilum volonteanum occurs in Sabah, Borneo

Lockhartia amoena, a Braided Orchid and Brassia arcuigera, a Spider Orchid

Isochilus major in the Tropical High Elevation House. Native to Mexico and Central America

The Orchid Center is wonderfully still and serene in the morning (after 9 am, that is.) Stop by this weekend!