A month or so ago I bought a book about what house plants are good for cleaning household air. I’d noticed that our house would get… stuffy? That point at which you open the windows to get some fresh air in the house even if it was 105 outside. Anyway, we’ve bought a group of plants that currently lives on the kitchen bar – also known as ‘The Last Kinda Safe Place for Things’ – and I’d like to think they make a difference. I’d also like to think that having something green and living in the room has helped break things up.
Having that in mind, we started talking about how great it would be to have some sort of flowering plants to add some color to the whole thing. However, having spent our fill on plants, pots, and fertilizer we didn’t go rushing out to look for colorful plants. Time moved on and then Christina saw a gent selling orchids at the Farmer’s Market.
Chris saw this and decided it was heading home.
Nice guy, quite willing to answer any questions about the plants, and he does all the orchid growing himself locally. His house is supposed to be quite colorful and packed with plants. Of course, the first time Christina saw him I wasn’t at the market – and we don’t go to the market with much more cash than we need, so the orchids were left behind. Two weekends went by without a return of the Orchid Man.
Then he finally appeared again – and there was much joy. Both because Christina was able to show me that yes, he does exist! and because we had brought extra cash just in case he was there. His booth was simple – under a tree, two tables with rows of orchids on display, and a small stack of buisness cards. But really, he doesn’t need a large sign or anything of the sort. The splash of color is all he needs.
Aleah had been promised a plant for her room and jumped on the chance to bring this home. It has PINK in it!
The decision making process was pretty easy – I knew which one I’d get right off. When Aleah heard that I was getting a flower, she promptly said “I like that one, can we take it home too?”. A few minutes of questions – [They like to be watered every two weeks or so, depending on the color of the roots – They should keep their flowers for about 3 months if kept happy – Do not repot them now, they like being in a tight space – Come visit him about a year from now and he’ll repot them for us to make sure it is done right – Keep near a window, but not in direct sunlight – They love humidity, a bathroom with a window is the perfect place – They prefer a good warm/cold cycle over the course of the day] – and we were sold. I mean really, a pretty plant that only wants water every two weeks? And even then it’s a matter of ‘are the roots white yet?’ – if still green, no water needed. Of course, as we were starting to pack them up Christina broke down and decided that she’d select one too.
At home they are living among the house plants on the bar. The color they add to the space is a welcome addition. Our plans are to move them into the bedrooms when we have some shelves ready. (we have the shelves – just need to finish painting them) I’m debating buying another one to keep in the living room for the extra bit of color it adds to the room. Because really, these are awesome flowers to sit down and ponder for a while.
Christina almost left without a plant - but who could resist this splash of color?