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Orchids are easy to grow in Florida, where Laura Carson lived before moving to New Zealand 20 years ago.
Growing them here gave her another connection with home, but she says they were a lot more tricky to grow in the Auckland climate.
As a bit of an orchid connoisseur, she found good plants – and anything other than the garden centre phalaenopsis (moth orchids) or cymbidiums (boat orchids) – hard to get hold of, until a friend invited her to join the Hibiscus Coast Orchid Society.
Immediately this put her in touch with like-minded growers, and a source of many of the not-as-common varieties.
Sharing information and cuttings with other enthusiasts is a huge part of being a club member.
Laura has around 75 orchids filling various corners of her home and a covered deck – “I’m trying not to buy any more, but it’s impossible.”
The hardier ones grow outside. Some are brought in during winter.
However, Laura, who is a keen gardener, insists there is not a lot of hard work to growing orchids. Despite their looks, they are not all prima donnas.
“I have two kids, my husband and I both work fulltime and we go away often in the weekend, so the orchids have to be tough,” she says.
“They don’t need much care if you have the right light conditions – just water (but don’t overwater) and apply low amounts of fertiliser,” she says.
Asking her for a favourite draws a puzzled frown – how to choose, when you love them all?
“My favourite at the moment is Stanhopia, which blooms from the bottom of the pot, from the roots,” Laura says. “I only have one – they are not easy to find. It had nine blooms this year.”
She also likes “sarks” – Sarcochilus varieties – and Miltoniopsis and even confesses to a fondness for the ubiquitous cymbidium.
“They get a little sneered at among experts because they are common, but I think they are just beautiful, and rewarding to grow,” she says.
She has been a member of the club for five years and was recently made president.
It has been extremely disappointing for the club to see its popular annual spring show in Ōrewa, which was to have been held this month, cancelled by the lockdown.
“It’s our opportunity to show some of our plants in full bloom, and share them with the community, so we’re gutted to have to wait until next year,” she says.
