Garden Club focuses on orchids

Orchids and other unusual plants were the topics of discussion yesterday among members of the Freeport Garden Club at their regular monthly meeting where they heard from a special guest speaker from New Prov-idence who wowed them with her vast knowledge of the unusual plants.

Marina Greaves, a member of both the Horticultural Society as well as the Orchid Society, travelled along with her specimens of plants from Nassau to Grand Bahama to address the Club.

"I love gardening. I am such a gardener that I am into everything. I have no real specialty, but I love orchids. If I go anywhere and I see something new that I like, I say, 'I have got to have that,'" she said.

In her address, Greaves shared some tips to Club members that she has learned in her years of gardening.

She presented useful information on finding, growing and maintaining various species of the orchid plant.

She also showcased some of the plants that she brought, highlighting some of the special features of those plants.

"We are all in some sense non-gardeners. But you learn something from everybody that is in gardening. We never ever know it all," she said.

"But for the person who is just starting, if you look around your environs, it is often an indication of what should do well in the particular area that you live."

Greaves encouraged persons to drive around their neighbourhoods and find certain plants that they like.

"Enquire about it because if it is doing well here, there is a great chance that you can grow it as well," she said.

Noting that there are many different species of orchids, Greaves said that one must be careful when choosing them since they do not always adapt to every environment.

"There are so many different types of orchids and there are also a lot of native orchids that are becoming very, very popular," she said.

"In fact, there are 33 species in Andros, but the hybrid ones that are grown elsewhere, you now have to have some special knowledge of how to grow those. They require special care and you can differentiate among the type of orchids and the type of care they require."

Greaves said she enjoys gardening because of the therapeutic experience it offers and also the end result of the blooming plants.

Averaging that she spends about 5 - 6 hours a day in her garden, Graves jokingly said she often gets so caught up in gardening that she sometimes forgets her housework.

"I enjoy the surprises that gardening brings. The joy is that the brown thumb that you have can become green by just starting to garden."


ORCHID LESSON — Marina Greaves of the Horticultural Society and Orchid Society from New Providence is pictured with David Long addressing members of the Freeport Garden Club during their monthly meeting at the Rand Nature Centre. (Photo by JENNEVA RUSSELL)