An Out of the Orchid Experience

Sometimes, an experience makes a better gift than a material item. My Mom’s birthday was last week and she hinted to Dad, who told me, that she wanted to try growing an orchid. Mom’s a green thumb but she had always been intimidated by orchids in the past. Now’s she’s ready. Mom and I, we’re thick as thieves.

So I visited my trusty friend Google to see what was available in the world of Nashville orchids, hoping I might happen upon something special. And something special is exactly what I found … Merkle’s Orchids. Ed and Lydia Merkle run a little backyard orchid business from their home in the Inglewood area. The greenhouse isn’t open all the time. As a matter of fact, it’s really just a hobby for the two of them and they show their orchids at events across the region. But if you use the contact information on the website, Ed will meet you and give you a tour of his greenhouse.

Mom and I spent over an hour touring with Ed. We sniffed orchids that smelled like peonies, coconut creme pie, root beer, nutmeg, and believe it or not, exactly like Fruit Loops. We learned about orchid reproduction, what makes an orchid and orchid, how best to care for them, and how the various species of orchids have adapted to ensure pollination. Some become fragrant only at night to attract the moths that pollinate them. Others smell rancid like a carcass or dog poo to entice the flies that pollinate that species. Still others (and Ed didn’t have one of these to share but we loved hearing the story) use sex to lure in a pollinator … here’s an article about the wasp orchid that looks and smells like a female wasp. The male comes by looking for action and pollinates the flower in the process. How in the HECK did evolution cause that to occur?? Mother Nature is a fancy lady, indeed.

Here’s my favorite orchid from the Merkle’s collection. Never seen anything like it:

Isn’t it STUNNING? And here’s Mom with Ed and her new purchase (plus a little baby orchid that is a hybrid that Ed himself created – couldn’t resist).

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Steal this idea … think outside the box to make a gift a little more special. Mom’s orchid was only $25 but the time spent together and the things we learned were priceless.

posted by Julia on Jun 5th, 2010 in Gift Giving, Julia Original
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