Orchid Show

The Douglas County Fairground's Floral Building was filled with orchids for show and for sale this last weekend. The Willamette, Umpqua and Pacific Orchid Show was hosted by the local club. A delightful, informative and friendly group, they were quick to make the casual observer, novice grower, competition breeder and flower photographer all feel welcomed. Admission was free making it an interesting and educational family outing.

Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, the show was be judged by the American Orchid Society. The AOS has as one of its primary goals the awakening and encouraging the joy that can be achieved through the hobby of growing orchids. Since 1921, the AOS has been in the business of educating and spreading the good word about this amazing obsession.

Orchids are monophyletic and are one of the three largest families in the plant kingdom. The orchid family is considered to be the second largest family of flowering plants in existence. About 70% of the world's orchids are epiphytic and/or litophytic, 25% are terrestrial and 5% of the world's orchids grow combining characteristics of two or all three growing types (litophytic, epiphytic and terrestrial) Orchids do also occur as saprophytes. Epiphytes grow on trees or other objects above ground level. They do not act as parasites. Litophytes are a lot like epiphytes. They are somewhere in the middle of terrestrial and epiphytic orchids (similar to epiphytes but grow as terrestrials). They often grow on poor soil, barren ground and also directly on rocks. Terrestrial orchids grow on the ground level in the soil. Oregon's own Lady Slipper wild flower is this type of orchid. Saprophytes are orchids growing in and living from dead material. They may grow very quickly since there is a lot competition for dead material in the tropical rain forests of the world!

The variety of orchids and the aromas coming from some of the plants were simply amazing. (writer's note: I gambled $5 for two spins on the spin & win game. I now have two baby orchids joining the one I already have at home.)