In a garden of orchids

With a lot of trees being cut for road widening and other developmental purposes, greenery is reduced to kitchen and terrace gardens.

However, there is a club of exotic orchid collectors called the Orchid Society of Karnataka that was formed in 2005. This Society not only aims to conserve the beautiful orchids but also encourages greenery and plant growth in the process.

The dedicated members of the Society meet once in two months at Lalbagh and help people source plants, potting material, fertilisers etc.
Vaman Rao is one such member of the Society who has a beautiful collection of orchids at his residence in Malleswaram.

Cultivation and gardening was always a passion for his family members.

However, he developed this hobby over a period of time and now, has over 60 varieties of orchids in his house. From the common varieties of orchids available in flower shops to the rare ones like ‘Brassavola’ (popularly known as the ‘Lady of the Night’) and ‘Paphiopedilum’ (also known as the ‘Slipper Orchid’), Vaman has them all.

Explaining the features of some of the rare orchids in his collection, he says, “The ‘Lady of the Night’ is currently in bloom and has its origins in South America and the Caribbean. It opens after 6 pm everyday and has a strong, beautiful fragrance.” Speaking of the ‘Paphiopedilum’, he says, “If you observe it closely, it looks like Cinderella’s slippers.

That’s why it’s called a ‘Slipper Orchid’.”

Most of these are sourced from the United States, he says.

However, he is quick to add that orchid cultivation is not a difficult or an expensive hobby.
“I just tend to them for an hour everyday and that’s enough,” he says.

However, one has to keep in mind things like spraying water and repotting of the plants. “One needs to take care of the insecticide and pesticide too,” he adds. “Among all the orchids I have, only ‘Slipper Orchids’ are terrestrial. That means they grow in soil. For the rest of the plants, I use a mixture of bricks and charcoal as a base.”

Some of the other orchids he has grown are ‘Laelio Cattleya’, a beautiful yellow orchid and ‘Phalaenopsis’, a white one with a dash of pink in the centre.

It’s not just orchids that Vaman tends to. He has a variety of other plants and even has a bird bath in his balcony where the sun birds come early morning to bathe.

Expressing his concern about the climate change, he says, “I have a plant called Christmas Cactus which used to flower around the time of Christmas. But this year, it flowered in July itself. That’s because of the increasing temperature of the City.”

According to him, the past decade has seen an increase of orchid hobbyists and this hobby is growing each day. However, he has a small piece of advice for budding enthusiasts. “Some people spend a lot of money and buy a variety of orchids to add to their collection. But they must keep in mind that more than the money spent on the plants, they should learn how to take proper care of these plants.”