pleasure in simple things

It is no secret, whether I am in Connecticut or Pennsylvania, one of my favorite stores to visit is Terrain.  If you are a frequent visitor to pleasure in simple things, you have shared quite a few visits with me to the Connecticut store since its opening in Westport, Connecticut last spring.

Friday field trip this week is to Terrain to check out a demonstration on planting orchids.  Not knowing very much about orchids, I was intrigued watching Mary Ann from Terrain demonstrate how easy an orchid can be planted and also to learn that their care is not that difficult.  This particular weekend, Matthew, the Terrain landscape designer from the Pennsylvania store, was also on hand.  It was great to have the opportunity to speak with him.  He is a great resource for design questions – pertaining to landscapes or to interiors.

I watched Mary Ann carefully remove an orchid from its pot, removing as much of the moss as she could.  She trimmed away any rotten or blackened roots (with the really pretty scissors they sell at Terrain!)  This particular orchid was put into a container Mary Ann had crafted from birch bark and made to hang.

In nature, these plants thrive in strong light (but not direct late afternoon sun); high humidity; air flow around roots; regular periods of drying, alternating with drenching rains; and in temperatures between 50 degrees and 85 degrees.  So, the closer you replicate nature, the more success you will have in growing orchids.

At Terrain, the orchids are watered infrequently, but misted on a regular basis.  In the summer orchids need to be watered weekly, but in the winter, closer to once a month.

Did you know in nature, orchids are epiphytes?  That means they grow on other objects, clinging to rough bark or even stone.  Here, Mary Ann has created an orchid planting very much embracing the way an orchid would grow in nature.  After covering the roots of the plant in moss, she tied it to a piece of a white birch log.  Terrain actually sells pieces of white birch logs so that if you wanted to create one of these plantings yourself, you could do so.  A screw eye, picked up at Home Depot, is easy to attach to the top of the birch log for hanging.  Or, you could have Mary Ann create one for you!  Either way, it makes for a beautiful hanging.

I had fun admiring many other beautiful orchids in varying colors and varieties throughout the store.

I think this deeply hued hanging orchid would make a wonderfully romantic Valentine’s Day gift!

I have a new appreciation for orchids after my visit to Terrain…I also feel a little less intimidated about trying to repot some plants myself!  This field trip definitely made me yearn for spring though!!  How many more days!?

I hope you enjoyed our Friday field trip to Terrain to discover orchids…maybe it inspired you to create a planting of your own?   Or, to give one as a gift?

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend, Jackie