Debbi, Pat, thanks for your comments. Debbi: When I started collecting, I too was mystified by the apparent dearth of orchid sources. I'm gradually sniffing them out. Here are some indications - from dilettanti with little or no knowledge of what they're selling to the really serious collectors/vendors. The prices are (believe it or not) in descending order, with the best deals from the serious collectors. 1) select florist shops (large NOID phals) 2) general garden centres (phals and cymbidiums -all noids) 3) two "kibbutzim" Maale Hahamisha (phals and some catt. hybrids, some labelled) and Bahan (a more varied selection, but unlabelled - this one sells potting medium, fert. etc. and has an orchid park with a play area for kids and a coffee shop). 4)The serious growers. One or two have websites where you can order online, but it's much more fun to visit and select on the spot. Especially true if you're a centrally located pensioner with lots of time on your hands (haha!). sharonorchids.com is my favourite, but there are plenty more. You can also order flasks or soiless plants from abroad, but this is complicated and expensive and requires an import licence from the dept. of agriculture. So, that's the picture. Sorry about all the details, but you DID ask.... Pat: Ah! your beautiful orchids and your beautiful photos. My mouth waters every time I open one of your posts. A question: The two dens (acquired from different stands) came potted in mainly lava rock and charcoal with a bit of bark mixed in. Both were quite damp when I got them, but have now dried out completely (after two days). Is this normal and if so, does this mean that I'll have to water every two days?? Could I (should I) repot into standard orchid mix which seems to suit my catts and allows me to water them in this fairly dry weather every 7-10 days? Thanks in advance. Judy

What gets me is so many experts say many of those orchids dont grow in the bay area..and i wasted time believing them until i put them outdoors and they did fine. Stanhopea is one and a beautiful Dendrobium is another, that has lime green glossy and highly segmented plump stems-it looks exotic out of bloom is another thing i like about it.In 2006 it bloomed twice in one year outdoors. Right now a Masdavallia is in bloom,a red-orange type.Laelia's lived years. A Oncidium that is a little on the rare side with a bloom that looks like a wasp to me but is called a butterfly orchid(the name i have someplace!) so far is growing slowly but truly on a piece of tree fern trunk. An Angrecum spends most of the year outdoors-i did bring it in last year in January-back out in late February. The "DARWIN" Orchid. So ,bay areans use that list posted by the SB society as a good guide-those orchids will do far better on your porch or covered patio then indoors. Especially when they are finished blooming and you dont know where to put them in the house.

Love your large, clear photos. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Karin, Growth is good, change is good. You are the decapitation queen, and the only person I know who started hybridizng fifteen minutes after she had two violets in her possession. You like new, different, and nothing to hold you back. So cut your losses and set down roots somewhere else, in fresh, clean territory you stake out yourself. Suggest you start something new, all your own, independent of any club, and invite people to join. Annie of the All About African Violets podcasts wants to forge a Canadian connection. Maybe you can work with her. Maybe also revisit that first club and see if they would like your help. Sort of like what Anne Marie K did for Lyon's. And for National. She is tapping a younger generation and using embedded videos and all the tools on her blogs. I can already see the opening scene of your podcast, walking down a country road with your dog in all four seasons. Leave the present club alone. I have seen something similar in another club, not saying who or where, in which two competing FB sites were set up. Not cool and when clubs air their inherited bad feelings for each other at a public level on the internet, newcomers will not be interested in participating. These are the growing pains of the 1970's style clubs not being able to adapt to change. It goes on with many non-profits, not just AF clubs. Joanne