Hi, this is Kathy in Western Massachusetts. I thought we might like to introduce ourselves like the irisarians have done. I started out a complete failure at houseplants, but great out in the garden. I have 3.3 acres now (my 3rd garden). I have been gardening for 25 years. I started with irises and am active in the local iris society. Beardless irises (siberian, japanese, and species) have been my first love. About 4 or 5 years ago (after killing a few orchids) I asked a friend if I should get serious about orchids; would he advise me? Well, before I read his advice, I bought an ascocenda as my first one (really hard as a starter). After 4 months of dunking it daily, I was planning on going away for the weekend and was showing it to a friend saying it was time to let it dry out and die that weekend when we jointly spotted the beginning of a spike!!! She immediately offered to water it while I was away and of course that was the beginning of my obsession with orchids. I'm now up to 350 orchids (shhhh, don't tell my guy! Only kidding, he must know by now since he lives with them!) and I grow them in two rooms in my house. My office, with large picture windows with south light, and my art studio, at 50 degrees for cymbidiums and the like. I also collect other houseplants but not quite as obsessively. After June 1, all the orchids go outside till frost. Then they all come back in, except the cymbidiums. They go on the porch for the fall where I can close the doors on those really cold nights and have months to get them to spike. I use reverse osmosis water (due to high salts in my well water) and a Rube Goldberg set up of hoses through ceilings to water them inside, with trays and shower curtains and shelves. A bit eccentric. I also just got a generator for when the ice storms turn off the electricity. So I'm finally snug as a bug with my buying shoes on and orchids that follow me home like baby ducks....And that's me. Here is a pic of my first child. Now tell me about yourself.
