Ode to Orchids

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KELLY MOORE CLARK
ARTICLE BY NILS BORQUIST

Janie Phillips knows passions well—beyond her work and her family, she has cultivated hobbies and interests as diverse as sewing, quilting, painting, cooking, photography, and traveling the world. Over the past couple of years, a new interest, growing orchids, has emerged, and this has given her and anyone fortunate enough to visit her greenhouse an enormous amount of satisfaction.

inpointing the inception of our life’s passions often proves quite difficult. Sometimes they may be traced back to childhood, the days of running around in the yard and diving into leaf piles or feeling the wind breeze past us as we swing on tires lashed to oak branches. If not there, we can sometimes remember the words of a dear friend pointing us down a path that turns out to be a blessing we would have otherwise never known. Perhaps our bliss comes as a complete surprise, a random occurrence that may be best chalked up to fate or destiny or even divine intervention. In any case, once we find that pleasure, giving ourselves over to it completely, investing our time and energies to it, and enjoying it to the utter maximum appears to be the best approach to ensure our absolute happiness. Janie Phillips knows passions well—beyond her work and her family, she has cultivated hobbies and interests as diverse as sewing, quilting, painting, cooking, photography, and traveling the world. Over the past couple of years, a new interest, growing orchids, has emerged, and this has given her and anyone fortunate enough to visit her greenhouse an enormous amount of satisfaction. With over 120 flowers from over 20 different species, the wide array of colors, shapes, and smells delight the senses and bring a smile to the face.

Considering her love of flowers today, the memories Janie has of “procuring” flowers during her childhood comes as no surprise. As she recalls, being enamored with roses and camellias and any other beautiful flower she discovered resulted in an insatiable desire to pick and pluck the lovely blooms. Though this brought her happiness, the neighbors and businesses from whom she appropriated the flowers may not have been so understanding. However, after creating bouquets as an apology, while always keeping a few for herself, she was always forgiven. 

Later in life, and while keeping busy with a multitude of interests, Janie was introduced to the idea of growing orchids. Looking into the practice and conversing with a few friends who shared a love of horticulture convinced her to give it a shot. However, considering the somewhat fragile nature of orchids, purchasing the highest quality greenhouse is incredibly important. After researching many options in the region and country, Janie did not really feel comfortable with the options presented. However, with a trip planned to the United Kingdom, and the knowledge that England is famed for the stunning gardens and topiaries, she got the idea to inquire about possibilities there. 

On her vacation, she visited multiple greenhouses and viewed various companies specializing in the buildings, and one emerged as her undeniable favorite. For over 80 years, Hartley Botanic has produced quite feasibly the best greenhouses in the world. Their buildings are custom made, and beyond their beauty, their utilitarian value is unsurpassed. Unfortunately, though, they are only manufactured overseas. While this could have been an issue, the company does ship to the United States where their American crew, based out of Boston, will deliver and install the building. Realizing the Hartley was the best choice, Janie made the decision to place an order, and her greenhouse is one of only two Hartleys in the entire state. 

nce established, a few important details were implemented to the building. Janie’s husband, Scott, a highly skilled engineer, installed electricity, and the couple made the prescient decision to use bayou water to deliver ideal and necessary nutrition to the plants. As their backyard slopes down to the bayou, they were able to install a pump and irrigation lines directly to the greenhouse in order to give the flowers a diet packed with nitrogen and phosphorus. With the greenhouse in place and bolstered by Scott, the next part, “the fun part” in her words, was to begin obtaining orchids. Local nurseries, both small regional businesses and largescale national chains, often sell orchids, though the choices of varied species is quite limited. With that in mind, Janie began seeking out potential sources of diverse plants. Over the following two years, she traveled around the country, making stops while on vacation or other trips at specialty growers across the western United States. Doing so provided her with the opportunity to collect plants normally unavailable in the South. In particular, Janie got the jasmine-scented Brassavola “Grace” in Montana, Miltassia from New Mexico, the exotic and vibrant Paphiopedilum (Lady Slipper) from Utah, and the multicolored and fragrant Zygopetalum from an outlet in Texas.

Even with a large number of new flowers, she believed that she could still manage a few more, so after checking out reasonable options, she decided to visit nurseries in south Florida. She and Scott booked a flight, made the trip, rented a large SUV, and began hitting stops. In a short time, the couple had filled the back of the vehicle, and they began the long drive back to Louisiana with new orchids as well as staghorn ferns, an exceptionally interesting plant with leaves that quite literally resemble the ends of deer antlers and that can grow to a weight of over 300 pounds. A close friend and fellow orchid enthusiast, Carrick Inabnett, had presented Janie with a fern prior to her trip. After recognizing the beauty of the species, as well as realizing how lovely the pairing of orchids and staghorns often is, she knew that given the chance, she would acquire a few for her growing collection. 

Without a doubt, Janie takes the work of developing her orchid “children” seriously. She constantly seeks out knowledge from varied sources in order to hone her craft. Luckily, her husband’s mother loved gardening as well, being an avid grower of roses and orchids, and she had a great collection of books that Scott kept and passed along. She pointed out that although the texts are old, the information has gone largely unchanged and remains unbelievably helpful. In conjunction with books, Janie has also become a member of three premier organizations: the American Horticultural Society, the American Orchid Society, and the Royal Horticultural Society. The groups provide a number of benefits such as highlighting optimum tools, materials, and methods in addition to offering shows and events and even virtual webinars for those who cannot attend in person. Also, in order to further her methodological knowledge and experience with propagation, Janie next plans to visit experts in Hawaii very soon, a state renowned for the diverse species of flowers in general.

Being able to visit with Janie in her greenhouse is certainly a treat. Her interactions with the flowers and plants are remarkable. She is devoted to them, cares for them, and even loves them. She spends her mornings and evenings with them, checking the greenhouse temperature and humidity levels, making sure they are being properly watered, and even rearranging them every few days to provide each of them with the most sun exposure. Soon, she will expand her orchids’ home with an additional greenhouse after purchasing another Hartley. Her excitement at the inevitability of more flowers and more diverse species can barely be contained. And why should it be? The relationship she has developed with her flower children has proven beneficial not only for the plants but for her. They bring her a certain meditative calmness, an added beautiful family to adore, and a daily reminder of the endless bounty given by the earth to cherish and enjoy.