Published on Saturday, October 4, 2025

By Victoria Torley

Yup, I am still walking with a cane, but it has its advantages.

For a long time, dear Metric Man has wanted me to “slow down.” Now he has his wish. Not that he is entirely happy with having extra household chores that I shouldn’t do (‘cause he isn’t), but my happy romps into the deep dark jungle have been terminated for a while and I won’t be climbing over dead tree trunks for months. Oh, those aren’t the advantages, those are part of “slow down.”

The advantage is – drum roll please – I am building an orchid greenhouse! It’s a “real” greenhouse with concrete block walls with transparent roofing and siding right at the back of the house. I can open the bedroom door and walk right into it. All sunny and warm and ready to receive the orchids that won’t survive outside in our climate like Cattleyas.

I had a Cattleya once and kept it on the deck. It dies. I gave my Phalaenopsis orchids to a friend because they were dying as well. Now I will have a special place where they can be babied and displayed. Who knows, I may even move them into the house when they are blooming.

Of course, my first love will always be the mini orchids that abound in Costa Rica. The delicacy of the Sievekingia, the exotic shapes of the Gongora, the tiny beads-on-a-string that are the Stelis, and the Sigmatostalix, are best seen through a magnifying glass. Most wild orchids are small, even tiny. Before people tour the garden, we always hand out the magnifying glasses.

Those orchids and others are my buddies. It took me some time to learn to recognize them, not from flowers, but from leaves, roots, and pseudobulbs. It took even longer to find accessible –legally accessible – orchids, which are only those on dead wood like downed trees and branches or old rotting fence posts. Some were easier.

The Gongora I found by following my nose, the scent of cloves pulled me in. Best of all, these local orchids thrive outdoors attached to trees and special posts. Yes, my orchid garden looks like someone was tossing pieces of wood here and there, but the orchids love it.

Yes, I may have over a thousand orchids outside, but most of them are unmovable because they love where they are. Now there will be an orchid house, warmer, safer from bugs, and ready for the splendid colors of hybrid orchids.

All of this because I messed up my leg and Metric Man wants me to slow down. I guess he figures that, if I can play in the dirt in a greenhouse, I can’t get into too much trouble. HA!

Plant for the week. Corsage Orchid (Cattleya), Native to Costa Rica, this flamboyant, many colored orchid is extremely popular.  It typically has large, fragrant flowers which last for a shorter period of time than other orchids. Cattleyas are epiphytes (tree-growing) orchids that grow high up in jungle canopies. These orchids like well-drained roots, and a lot of light.

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Find more interesting stories about gardening in Costa Rica on the AM Costa Rica Garden page. Questions on this article, Ms. Victoria Torley, gardener columnist, can be reached by emailing victoriatorley1@gmail.com
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