Transferred Thoughts #3

6th April 2005

i, greenthumb

As at the time of writing, my husband does not know that I have converted a portion of our second bedroom-cum-study into a makeshift orchid nursery.

Coming from a 9:40 a.m. appointment at the doctor’s surgery along Dalkeith Road (and bearing a clean bill of health, provided I take paracetamol and not engage in strenuous activities) , I took a quick detour to that Mecca of DIYs, Homebase, which was just a short walk up the road, past the Royal Commonwealth Pool. My violet dendrobium (at least that’s what the label at IKEA said it was) had outgrown its pot and was in need of re-potting. I also intended to get a second orchid, preferably one which bears white flowers, to provide some contrast to our (newly painted! whopee!) kitchen wall.

Being the daughter of an agriculturist, I grew up seeing my dad meticulously attaching newly sprung orchids onto pieces of driftwood and using either dry coconut husks or wood shavings as a medium to capture much needed moisture for the roots. Of course, that was in Manila, where orchids are kept in the shade but definitely outdoors. It doesn’t take much imagination to guess the fate that awaits an orchid left out against the Scottish weather.

A quick discussion with a Homebase store assistant revealed that orchids in Scotland are not re-potted using wood shavings. I asked him if they had wood shavings for sale, and after seeing what I perceived to be a puzzled look, quickly explained that I intended to transfer an orchid which had now grown too big for its pot. That’s when I learned that they’re re-potted in orchid compost - an interesting concept, which I will tell my dad in the next letter I write to him.

I also managed to obtain a dendrobium which bears white flowers - although at first glance, it did look like it needed re-potting too. There three visible groups of stems growing from the same pot, and albeit, competing for nutrients in the compost (which, notably, was made of very dry wood shavings!).

It took two hours to transfer the orchids - and another half hour for me to decide and act on my decision to transfer my aloe vera. So now, four pots of newly transferred orchids stand beside our CPU, hopefully recovering from the ‘trauma’ of literally being uprooted and relocated to a new home. It will take time for the roots to find their way through the compost, but with some luck (touch wood to cancel the sight of a black cat! If you're perplexed, see my PPS below), I might do Dad some justice here!


PS: Hubs did notice when he came home! In his own words, ‘it’s hard to miss 4 flower pots by the CPU, love!

PPS: I just saw a black cat cross the street perpendicular to our flat! NOTE: - must write about how huge cats are here! they make my cats in Manila look malnourished!)