Annie that's a very interesting orchid. It almost looks like it could walk away on those long petal things.

I wish I had some orchids to share but all I've got is a Tricyrtis hirta, toad lily.

In bloom now....

Yes, Orchids are lovely...and too finicky for me. I prefer flowers like these that have been growing and blooming in my side yard for more than 50 years without any special care.

From the butterfly house on the grounds of Malahide Castle, Ireland.

I just can't keep an orchid alive in my house either. I don't know why I even bother to try, but usually once a year I buy another one only to end up with nothing but leaves and then even they die. Luckily our Krohn Conservatory has a whole room dedicated to orchids and it's a nice humid place to spend time on a cold, dry winter day.

Those are so monkey-like that I cannot help wondering whether they are simply photo-shopped. I have seen orchids where a part of the flower looks like a particular insect to lure in others of that species to mate with the simulacra, and thereby pollinate the orchid. These orchids are probably banking on attracting those annoying insects that are seemingly compelled to fly right into your eyes all the time. If so, the plants probably do quite well.

I had a waterlily almost identical to that in my pond in Venice. It was the only one I had that was fragrant, but I didn't really like the fragrance - it was sort of spicy, like ginger and cinnamon combined and not really sweet. It was tropical, and would start blooming around June, but it would keep blooming until mid-January.

I think orchids like getting fresh air, which is why they don't do so well when kept indoors all year. I do bring my phaleonopsis indoors when the temperatures get below 50°, which is generally Dec-Feb. I keep them in a very shady spot outdoors for the rest of the year, but all other orchids that I have (including cattleya) stay outdoors throughout the winter. It rarely gets below 45° here and never below 40°, from my experience. You can also kill orchids by overfeeding them, and so I rarely fertilize mine.

Kew Garden, England.