Hey Everyone,
Once again I am simply amazed, flabbergasted, overwhelmed (and any other appropriate adjective you can think of) over plant-people's generosity, in particular Orchid Growers. I'd best start from the beginning or my overwhelmed-ness may not make as much sense.
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Some of Bill's Tolumnias
Photo By Bill |
When I first started out growing orchids
the first person to show generosity was my mother and father who took me down
to the local hardware store and, with a little bit of the family inheritance
from my grandmother, bought me my first every shade house. So there is act of generosity #1. Then soon after I started trying to grow my
orchids I thankfully found a wonderful forum by the name of OrchidGeeks, and
through that I asked a million and one questions, from the complex to the
painfully obvious and not once did anyone scold me for it, but instead they
encouraged it and enjoyed watching my knowledge and competency grow. As I was going about asking my
million-and-one questions, one day I received a private message from a man who
lives an hour-or-so drive from me, at first I thought, Uh Oh, I have finally
asked that one question too many, but instead he told me that he liked to see a
young person interested in the hobby and he wished to help me in any way he
could, and gave me his personal email address so that I was easier to have our
correspondence.
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One of Bill's Dendrobiums
Photo By Bill |
At first I must admit I
was nervous, I was only 14 or so and I had been told about stranger danger all
my life, so I hesitantly sent him a message saying hi, and asked him a question
or two… well within days upwards of 10 or so emails were going back and forth
non-stop and very quickly all my friends learnt the name of this prestigious
orchid grower by the name of Bill. Well,
since we first “met” over 1000 emails have gone back and forth with massive
numbers of photos and questions, and normally with every answer Bill gave me I
would then send back 10 more questions.
Now that I think back on it he had the patience of a saint… so there we
have it, acts of generosity #2 (the members of OG answering my questions), #3
(Bill taking a chance on a young ‘un) and #4 (Bill answering by millions of
questions). After a while Bill then sent
me his phone number and said to ring him for a chat because that way we could
get far more questions answered in a short space of time, so I had my big long
list of them organized and off we went, somehow 2 hours passed in what felt
like 2 minutes, it was a wonderful chat.
While I was starting out, whenever I saw an orchid I liked I would
always send an email off to bill asking if he had any experience with it and
did he think I could grow it, and then if he thought I could I would then
normally ask if he knew where I could get one and he would advise me on the
best, and cheapest places to get one, either that or say he would give me one,
at first I thought he was joking on the last point.
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Some of Bill's Tolumnias
Photo By Bill
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Also one time he and I got chatting about an
orchid and he told me where I could get one, but said that to save me having to
go to the trouble he would add it to the list of plants he was ordering from
them, and so he sent me them… Act of generosity #5. We then got chatting on another occasion and
we organized for dad and I to go out for a visit to his place. He told me that he had to go out later that
morning so we would sadly only be able to stay for an hour. So I managed to convince dad and off we went
early one Saturday morning... I think we ended up staying for 4-5 hours, when I
said to dad that we better go, bill overheard and said that not to worry about
it, he’d cancelled his appointment and we could stay as long as we liked. As we had been walking around bill’s shade
houses, 5 in total, every now and then bill would pick up a plant and give it
to me to hold. At first I thought he
wanted me to carry it so he could have a look at it later to repot it or
something, little did I know he was actually building up a pile of plants to
give to me.
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Tolumnia Irene Gleason 'Snow Fire'
Photo By Bill |
He gave me seedlings of
this, and plants of that, he gave me Angraecums, Vandas, Cattleyas, Tolumnias,
Dendrobiums and a lot of others. He also
told me to take out any plants I was having problems with and she showed me
what was wrong with them, how to fix it, he gave them a spray of
pesticide/fungicide, he demonstrated how to repot them, and then to top it off
he gave me several big zip lock bags and told me to fill them all with various
different fertilizer, he gave me a box of a pesticide and a bottle of a
fungicide, all which have lasted me these past 2 years and will last me many
more years to come. He also told me how
you “flask” orchids and showed me all the different stages of flasking
too. Then when we left, with the back
seat of our car PACKED with all manner of things, dad then had to put up with
me talking non-stop about how brilliant bill was. Since then he has sent me several plants and
flasks of orchids and even more advice…. I reckon that deserves 100 #’s of acts of generosity right there.
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Tolu. Keysha
Photo By Bill
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From my friends on OrchidGeeks ive been
given
Several native Dendrobiums from Steve and
Sonia
Several Pterostylis species from Dan,
And a BAZZILLION Aussie terrestrials from
Andrew,
Both Dan and Andrew also talked me through
every step of potting the tubers, through watering, what to make the mix out of
etc. etc.
Also some family friends of ours live in
the Rainforest gave me their 3m x 3m Shade house, as well as a HEAP of
Staghorn, Elkhorn and Birdnest ferns from their garden and several orchids as
well, including a MASSIVE Dendrobium gracillicaule which you all saw a while
ago in my photos.
I also decided to join a society. I swear the society must have the most
generous, kind, caring and giving people there ever there were. I have been given
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Tolu. Willowbank Flask
Photo By Bill |
Dockrillias from John,
Catasetum from Mouri,
Flasks, numerous extra pots, and tags and
other growing supplies when I bought some other stuff, and help repotting some
specimens from Barry,
Phalaenopsis from Max,
someone also gave me an Aerides during the
hussle and bussle of packing down the autumn show last year so I sadly cannot
remember who gave me that one,
I then have been given countless keiki’s
and other bits from other members,
I got a Blc Alma Kee 'Tipmalee' from
another John,
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Tolu. Willowbank Lilac
Photo By Bill |
I then got invited out to Reg’s house
during Exam Block to see his shade house and he said he had “a couple of
plants” for me, I didn’t know he meant 3 TRAYS, then last Thursday at the
meeting he gave me some more keiki’s and and dendrobium biggibum which was
COVERED in even more keiki’s
Then Brent told me he had a couple of
plants for me too… when he said plants, he meant PLANTS he gave me 4 plants,
all big MASSIVE happy healthy plants, he also told me how I could split them
and sell some pieces and make a good profit from them too, yet he wasn’t going
to do that and he thought it would give me an extra boost.
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Tolu. Willowbank Rose
Photo By Bill |
Sadly I have not been able to list every
single act of generosity but in the space of 2 years or so, doesn’t all that
just overwhelm the beejeesus out of you too?
When I was younger I had really low self
esteem (yeah I know, everyone panic he’s getting deep and emotional), and no
matter what I did I just couldn’t break myself of it, but meeting all these
wonderful, kind, generous and amazing people has done wonders. Each time they spare me the time of day to
give me a piece of advice, let alone a plant, it makes me really think that I
must be something special, they must think that I’m worth it because why else
would they be doing it? I’m trying really hard to put how I feel onto this
piece of space, but I’m just not managing it the extent that I want.
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Inside part of the Vanda House
Photo By Bill |
All I can say is, thank you! you don’t know
how major a part you have played in the way I am as a grower, as a person, and
as a friend. Your kindness will shine
through all of the sad clouds and negative thoughts and will brighten my days
for the rest of my life.
To all my wonderful friends, followers and
fellow gardeners,
I hope you have an absolutely glorious day,
and be sure to take notice of the kind things, the little things, and make sure
you try and remember them because sadly they all too often get lost in the
whirlpool of the little negative things.
Why not write them down so that on a sad
day you can come back to them and see that the world isn’t so bad after all and
it’s full of the Mums and the Bills and the countless other Andrews, Dans,
Regs, Barrys and other kind people.
Happy Gardening,
Michael
These are the recent plants that Brent gave me
