A most unsuitable orchid
Encyclia something
An orchid intermission was just the thing to do to tear myself away from the never-ending editing job of putting the not-quite-so-final touches to my pattern, so yesterday we took a day trip to Santa Barbara to visit an orchid nursery, a couple of yarn stores, and walk around the chalk paintings of the Madonnari festival at the Santa Barbara Mission.
On the trip there I managed to scribble a few notes on my print-outs, because I was to anal dedicated to leave home without them. All that dedication went away as soon as we reached the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate and Ben had to figure out how to leave the place without me mortgaging the house.
Lycaste aromatica
I had a vague idea of what I wanted to look at, which I did, but then fell in love with the most unsuitable orchid. Leave it to me to become infatuated with the only cinnamon-scented specimen among thousands of orchids. Of all the scents that give me instant headaches and leave me gasping for air, cinnamon is the worst offender and the beguiling orchid smelled like the most disgusting chewing gum. It took me a while to realize that the plant I was admiring was the source of that smell. By then it was too late; I already knew that I wanted it. Fortunately, the Lycaste Aromatica in question turned out not to be for sale, being that it was the mother plant and they had run out of smaller specimens. Unfortunately, the nice woman at the nursery offered to call another orchid nursery down the road to see if they had a young plant available.
You know how the story ends: we have the orchid in the back seat for the two-hour trip home while I try to survive without breathing. The Lycaste Aromatica is an outdoor orchid and is now sitting pretty between a languishing lavander and a struggling raspberry plant. We’ll see how she does in the next few days. I just couldn’t resist the intense yellow flowers.
No water until Luis says its' raining in Mexico
Ah, the watering instructions are a bit on the fuzzy side: “No water until Luis says it’s raining in Mexico.” Hm, OK.
So many shapes and colors and sizes!
A tube of orchids
Some kind of Masdevallia?
A disturbing orchid
White is always pretty
The horned ones
Oh yes, there was yarn, lots of yarn and all of the Habu variety — insert little dance here — from the cutest yarn shop: Loop & Leaf. But by then I was tired of taking pictures so you’ll just have to go there yourself next time you’re in Santa Barbara.
Posted by Francesca | 6 comments
Attraction // Fluffbuff
[…] we went to Santa Barbara last week, we brought home another orchid in addition to the Licaste aromatica. This one is a tiny plant with a white flower as big as its foliage and is another fragrant orchid […]
Annie
Oh what a lovely flower. I adore orchids, although here in the UK mine have to be of the potted variety, they don’t do well outdoors in our weather (understatement alert, although that said we’re suffering a drought right now). We do have orchids that grow wild here, but they are rare and a very different beast.
My potted orchids currently have orchid worm … or rather courtesy of a naughty whippet puppy they look as if that’s what they have ! They are atop a tall bookcase, but it’s close enough to an armchair that if he takes a flying leap he can just about manage to grab a petal with his teeth before gravity takes over and he plunges to the ground with his prize. Of course he is then most put out when I take it away from him!
And what a great yarn store … you are so lucky to have stores that stock yarns like Habu, which is really hard to come by here … I have been known to pay over the odds to order yarn from the US just to get my hands on the good stuff!
fleegle
Good grief! So sorry you can’t stand cinnamon…that’s a stunning plant!
Do you have other orchids or is this one the first of many?
Yarndude
I feel stupid admitting this, but I didn’t know orchids had scents! I love the watering instructions, though.
Lydia
Orchids? I am swearing them off for the most part until my kids are older. I went through a cactus phase, and now have just a few lucky ones that hang around and never bloom because I can’t dedicate enough time to their care. I’ve also been through an African violet phase, a fuschia phase, a bonsai phase and a dahlia phase (in the garden), but my first plant love was cactus and succulents as a teenager. But don’t get me started back on the orchid phase again. Please!
Ben
I’ll happily mortgage the house in exchange for a flower… that we can live in.
And doesn’t have a leaky roof. That is now part of the requirement. I’m not sure what part of the flower counts as a roof, but it must not be a leaky part.
Also, orchids are scary. I could easily spend the rest of my life learning just one thing more about them. I must not be distracted by the shiny.