orchids

okay, well technically i'm not growing orchids to eat them.  unfortunately i can't grow vanilla at my house.  but this past year i have ventured into the amateur orchid world by trying my hand at a few.  they bring much needed color to the winter indoor garden.  the ones that i have blooming now are phalaenopsis - pretty much the standard orchid varieties that you see around.  the purple one i've had since december, and it's been blooming steadily since then - 4 months and counting, meaning that i passed the first level of orchid growing - 'i didn't kill it!'.  the white and yellow orchids are ones that i've had since last year.  with these, i've reached the second level of orchid growing - 'i got it to bloom again!'  we'll see how i fair for the third level ('i got more flowers than last year!').