Not only that, I went by myself! And not only that, I didn't have to drive in the city! I parked in Gresham and took the train in! I am NOT a city person, and this was a big scary thing for me to do- a country mouse negotiating public transportation. But I did it and it was painless and easy and fun! So much less stressful than driving on the surface streets downtown.
The orchid show was great, though smaller that I was expecting. Only two show tables and a dozen or so vendors. I went to a couple shows in North Carolina years and years ago that were much bigger, so that sort of set my expectation I guess. Still, there were lots of great plants and I got to see some blooms in person that I haven't seen before.
I managed to get away without too much damage to my bank account. I had set a budget beforehand, and stuck to it. Then, too, there was the issue of carrying whatever I bought back on the train, so I was limited to the tote that I brought. I brought only one tote on purpose...
This is me waiting to get on a bus. Yes, I not only rode the train, I changed my plans after lunch and decided to go to a pet store on the other side of the city (to get calcium powder for Critter), and to get there I had to take a bus. The bus line connected to the train line, so I just got off the Blue train, walked a block to the bus stop, and waited for the 75 south bus. Easy peasy.
Everyone who is a seasoned public transportation rider can stop laughing at me now. I was very excited about this. You pay $5 in the morning to get a ticket, then you can ride all over the city all day on buses, trains, and streetcars, all on that same ticket. They drive you around! You don't have to keep track of which streets are one-way, or where you can park, or anything! They do it all for you!
Ahem. Anyway. It was really fun.
So here's what I got:
Three of these are not for me. The big one in the back on the right, plus the two smaller ones directly in front of that one were for coworkers who decided that they wanted orchids too. I only got eight plants for myself. Left to right and counterclockwise starting from the tall one in the back left corner, they are Oncidium Sharry Baby 'Sweet Fragrance' (which smells like chocolate!), Aerangis distincta, Angraecum equitans, Lepanthes calodictyon, Pleurothallis grobyii small form, Masdevallia strobelii big form, Masdevallia strobelii small form, and Paphiopedilum Oriental Spring.
I think of all the ones I got, the Lepanthes calodictyon is the coolest. It's a miniature, and has awesome foliage. It's not in bloom right now, but the tiny flowers will be carried on the little stalks protruding from the middle of each leaf.
Then on the way back at the end of the day, I stopped in at the hardware store that was conveniently right next to the train stop. I was lured in by their display of house plants in the window. Just to browse, you understand, but I did still have a little cash left in my plant budget envelope. So this cactus had to come home with me. It was only $2.50, and so pretty.
This is Parodia werneri (formerly Notocactus uebelmannianus). The plant itself is about two inches in diameter, each flower is an inch and a half in diameter, and I like it because the spines are very tidy and flat. I'll actually be able to repot it without puncturing myself.
Plus, so pretty! There are five more flower buds developing, in addition to the two that are open.
1 comment:
Great collection and the Lepanthes calodictyon is especially nice.
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