Antonella's Orchids

In 2004 we bought a beautiful house in San Jose(CA) hills. As a passionate gardener, I obviously fell in love more with the garden and the beautiful greenhouse than with the house itself. Fred, the seller, was an orchid lover who, because of his passion, was moving to Hawaii. Getting to know about my love for plants, he decided to ship only half of the orchids to his new residence and leave the others to me. Needless to say, he obviously took with him the most beautiful and rare plants of his collection, but it was nonetheless very generous and kind of him to trust me with the care of the remaining ones. With almost no experience in orchid care, I managed to kill a few of them, but also to rescue back to health many others that looked lifeless. In the following two years, the plants rewarded us with an incredible display of gorgeous flowers. Every time they bloomed, it was such a surprise to find out what "hatched" from the buds. Sometimes we had so many orchids blooming at the same time that we gave them to friends to enjoy. I regret not having taken more pictures, but I will always cherish the memories of the delicate and elegant beauty and the unique scent of the orchids.
When we sold the house in 2007, knowing that the buyers had neither time nor experience to take proper care of the plants, we donated them to the San Jose Chapter of the Orchid Society.