Colourful Language: Moth orchids, zebra finches and Vulcans

About ths blog : Communicating in any language

Art and illustration and gardening, and two languages: English and French - is there a link other than these activities being of interest to me ?

This question has arisen with my decision to launch this blog with my thoughts on what I do. Certainly, these are the interests and skills that I have acquired as I've stumbled along, sometimes with very little idea of where I'm going but are they too disparate for a single blog, which needs focus ? Possibly, but maybe they are linked by more than serendipity ?

As I've found that studying a language, art and more recently gardening, have put me in touch with people with whom I might otherwise not have had any contact, I can't help wondering if the common denominator is less my interest than the communication these activities have generated.
Learning a language, understanding another culture, is definitely about communication but so too is art where of course the language is visual. Gardening also facilitates communication (say it with flowers ?) as does any activity that allows you to link with people, share and exchange ideas. Sport - I do that too - is another way of coming together, pooling efforts and enjoying shared experiences. So maybe the link is the committed, constructive and creative use of our time that allows us all as individuals to be part of something bigger than ourselves : a community ?

Moreover, gardening, like art and illustration, but also learning to communicate in another language, creates colour (literally and metaphorically) in our lives and makes people... smile. And isn't the best way to start a conversation with a smile ?

So, perhaps when explaining what I do, which sometimes I find difficult to do because I don't fit easily into any nice, neat category, I should say : "I'm a communicator".

Sunday 9 November 2008

Moth orchids, zebra finches and Vulcans

Horticulturally speaking, my current preoccupation is an orchid, or to be precise a phalaenopsis. For the profanus amongst us, the moth orchid is apparently the most popular orchid grown as a house-plant, at least in terms of the numbers sold. Up until now, I've steered clear of such exotic creatures fearing the special care they need. However, I've now acquired a specimen by way of a thank-you gift from a friend saying it with flowers.

Needless to say, the instructions (in 4 languages), which accompanied the plant, were rather rudimentary : light - bright but no direct sunlight ; temperature - between 18 and 22°C ; water occasionally but don't leave any water in the pot ; feed occasionally and cut the flower stem back to the 3rd or 4th eye after flowering. Being so succinct, the information suggested more questions than it answered. Fortunately, I live near a very good garden centre that presently has an indoor display of orchids growing in the intersections of tree branches set up as supports. The display, like a picture, spoke a thousand words. I now understand, with further reading, that orchids of this kind are epiphytic, they grow on the surface of other plants but are not parasitic. In their natural habitat, aerial orchids typically live on the branches of trees in communities with other epiphytic plants. They are true survivors as their arboreal colonisation is the result of a lack of light on the forest floor.

Certainly, epiphytic orchids are well adapted to their lofty accommodation with aerial roots that draw in moisture and nutrients more from the surrounding air than the scant vegetable matter in which they nestle. This explains the very dry and loose compost and the clear plastic pots in which commercially-grown orchids are usually sold. The roots need light.

So, forearmed with this information I have opted to hang my orchid in a net from the ceiling in the bathroom where I hope it will enjoy the temperate and humid atmosphere, the dappled light and the company of the other plants that seem to be living quite happily there.

The orchid flowers are indeed exquisite. I quite understand Tuvok's predilection for orchidaceae. Following the footsteps of his forebear Spock, the Vulcan officer serving on board the star ship Voyager has an understandable propensity for perfection. Tuvok's collection of orchids suggests that Voyager is equipped with a lighting system that truly imitates daylight - no doubt essential for the well-being of its crew (and its on-board garden) wandering at length through space. Apologies for the digression but I can't help it, aliens with pointed ears and irritating logic always come to mind when I see an orchid. Maybe if ever we make first contact an offering of orchids should be our welcoming gesture, à la Hawaiian who are said to say it with flowers.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the position of my orchid and may indeed fix a few more hooks into the ceiling so that I can expand this epiphytic community. With the zebra finches that I've painted on the bathroom tiles peeking through its foliage, my phalaenopsis at least 'looks' well suited to its new location. That being said, after this initial research I have some concerns about my orchidaceae : when the plant reached me it leaves were showing some discolouring, a result perhaps of inappropriate conditions in the shop or in transit ? Still, most things want to live and hopefully, with a bit of gentle nurturing, it will pull through the ordeal of all the man-handling its endured to date.