Your orchid is very nice. They are beautiful and colorful looking too.

Tried to grow some of those "New Guinea" Dendrobium Hybrids and failed. Have never had much success with those " thyrsiflorum type Dendrobiums" either, as for Colmanara Masai Red....a complete mystery. It is the only Colmanara left on the Hybrid register. I've seen plants with various colour variations over the years, all lovely so they are around.

Andyandy, I posted some comments about that same palm in another Gardenweb discussion (see link). I've never seen it personally but I've seen many photos and know the guy who originally planted it back in 1994 (he no longer owns the house and a new owner is taking care of it). The short answer is that nobody knows exactly what temperatures it's experienced, or for what duration. The nearest airport (Dulles) has recorded subzero temperaratures at least two or three times since the palm was planted, and I assume Sterling would have similar temperatures, but it's planted right up against a house in a very sheltered location; he told me that he doesn't remember the temperature at his house ever actually going below zero even on the coldest days, but I'm not sure if he ever took actual measurements with a reliable thermometer. Windmills palms HAVE been documented to survive below-zero temperatures in other locations, but the survivors are generally large, well-established plants, growing in climates where such temperatures are extremely rare, and always suffer extreme damage. Regarding the palms planted in front of the Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC, I was checking some old Gardenweb discussions and saw claims that they were planted in the late 1980's (in which case they would have survived the extreme 1993-1994 winter, the last time temperatures in the city went below zero). This is not accurate; they were actually planted in the early 2000's but they are still impressive and worth checking out if you ever visit. Here is a link that might be useful: Trachycarpus fortunei discussion

If you visit again and wish to see orchids, you could go an orchid society meeting as a visitor or go to an orchid show in the season which goes from May to October. Here is the the link to the NSW Orchid Society where orchid society contact details are listed and orchid shows are listed in Month Order. NSW Orchid Society Web Site