The orchid greenhouse in Portland gave me goosebumps

I stopped by the Hoyt Arboretum's tropical greenhouse last Saturday and their collection of Masdevallia orchids absolutely blew my mind. I mean, these flowers look like tiny alien creatures with their long tails and wild colors (up to 3 inches across). I spent 45 minutes just staring at one purple variety with spotted petals. Has anyone else found a specific plant family that just hooks you visually like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

jake_chen3d ago

You ever seen a Lithops? My buddy got hooked on those living stones plants after he found one at a garden show in Seattle. He said it looked like a little brain sitting in a pot, and he couldn't stop staring at it. Ended up buying three of them that day, and now he's got a whole shelf of em in his kitchen window. I swear he talks about them more than his kids sometimes.

gray_patel3d ago

Whoa hold up lol, I gotta disagree hard on this one. Those Lithops are honestly the most boring plants I've ever seen. They literally sit there for months looking like a wrinkled toe that got left out in the sun too long. I've seen them at nurseries and I just don't get the hype. Watching paint dry is more exciting than watching a living stone do absolutely nothing day after day. If your buddy is choosing those over his own kids, I think he might need a hobby that actually moves or grows. Maybe he'd like a cactus that actually does something once in a while.