Greetings from Illinois

[AKNicolle]

Hi all - I'm a total orchid newbie, but I hope to address that through these forums I was first introduced to orchids as a wide-eyed kid in Australia enjoying the gardens of some elderly neighbors. They had a decent-sized outdoor shade-cloth enclosure in their huge backyard, absolutely filled with orchids. Even back then I found the things fascinating.

Here I am nearly 30 years later, and the fascination has returned! Now I live on the other side of the world and have a garden of my own to enjoy. I'm heavily into bonsai, and also have a growing cacti and succulent collection in my basement. It's likely more than a few orchids will be joining them under the lights soon!

The Chicago Botanic Garden has a huge orchid show coming up this weekend, lasting for about a month. I've been a member for several years and have always enjoyed browsing the tropical plants, but they're clearly taking things to a whole new level with this show. I can't wait to see what they come up with!

I've also discovered there's a huge orchid retailer (Hausermann's) within short driving distance, so I'll be checking them out soon. I certainly need a taste of the tropics with this nightmarishly cold winter we've been having!

Cheers,
Andrew

[nikkik]

Andrew, welcome to the OB! Hausermann's is great, they come to our Palm Sunday show every year. Natt's Orchids is also in that general vicinity.

[orchidsarefun]

make a plan to attend the Batavia Orchid Show this weekend ( Feb 15/16 ) at the Du Page Fairgrounds. We will have a few vendors and plenty of people to answer questions.

Chicago Suburban Orchid Show

[AKNicolle]

nikkik: Sounds like we're spoilt for choice in this area!

orchidsarefun: Thanks for the heads-up. February seems to be a busy month for orchids around here. Is that related to blooming cycles?

[orchidsarefun]

It is and it was more so. I have seen photos of past displays with hundreds of flowering orchids of all kinds. Members now lament that changes in the weather over time - sun strength, cold snaps and such-like have impacted flowering times. Erratic is not good if you want reliability in blooming times.
I also think that Feb is a good time to get cheered up because of cabin fever and there will always be something flowering. From now on its a good sales time for vendors.

[WhiteRabbit]

[OCRC_Dir_China]

Welcome to the Orchid Board from the OCRC in China.

[GluttonousSolarWrasse]

Welcome Andrew,

The Chicago Botanic Garden is really supposed to be one of the premier botanic gardens of the U.S. It has been mentioned many times in my various classes, and I've heard so many nice things about it. Also, with your proximity to Hausermann, (whom I have bought from many times in the past, with great results) YOu will have access to all the wonders of the orchid world, very locally!

Also it doesn't take long for a collection to go from 4-5 plants to 40-50 plants. I can't seem to help it my self, I bought 4 new ones at a show I just attended here in Jersey.

[AKNicolle]

orchidsarefun: Regarding the show, the site said something about an hour being set aside for photography on Sunday morning. Is it permitted during the rest of the show?

GSW: Yeah, it's one of the most impressive botanic gardens I've been to. I never get tired of visiting - there's always something new to see. You've got me nervous about the collecting aspect - I'm still waiting on 30 or so cacti to ship from California, being held off due to the extreme weather. Even their heat packs can't help when it's so cold. Lucky for me I'm within driving distance of so many upcoming shows and orchid nurseries, right?

[GluttonousSolarWrasse]

That is right! I've bought a lot of livestock online, from marine fish (I keep a reef tank also) to orchids, and even reptiles, and I've always had pretty good luck. As for the collection getting too large-that is when you have justification to build a greenhouse!