Pretty little things

One of the very first things I have noticed when we moved here in Holland is the very beautiful, ginormous blooms that abound everywhere. Flowers here are hands down one of the most beautiful I have seen EVER! I’m not just talking about flower shops (although there are flower shops in every corner), a lot of houses here have very pretty flowers blossoming in their gardens, tulips, roses of all colors and sizes, orchids and so much more. I have never tried growing my own flowers that is why I envy those houses with flowers to boot.

If I like flowers, Junfer can’t get enough of them. I am contented at looking at them in the shops or in our neighbors’ garden but Junfer was never satisfied with that. There was a time when each afternoon that I come home, I would find a new orchid plant or a flower pot that he recently bought from the store. The problem was, he never knew how to care for them, poor little pots of pretty blooms. After a couple of days or weeks (depending on the type of flower he bought) the potted plants start to wither and die. I even had to tell Junfer to stop buying the plants since it’s a waste of such beautiful flowers. So Junfer refrained from buying so much flower plants and we contented ourselves with more sturdy leafy plants that needed less attention and care.

The next time we encountered potted blooms was when we had our house blessing, several of our friends gifted us with pots and pots of beautiful and colorful orchids, one was even similar to the one Junfer recently bought (and managed to kill… haha). That was when I decided that I have to take matters into my own hands, I told Junfer that from then on I would take care of the orchids. Since I know nothing about caring for such delicate flora, I did a bit of research on the net and asked some of our friends who have orchids in their own homes for tips on how to keep the plants healthy. I was so certain that these plants are difficult to keep alive because I remember my sister bought a purple-colored orchid from one of her trips from Mindanao and in spite of all the watering and fertilizing that she did, the orchid only made it through a few weeks, it shriveled and died. With the little knowledge that I acquired, I did my best to keep the fragile blossoms alive.

We held our house blessing in February, so it’s been five months ago and guess what…..



My beautiful orchids are still fresh, alive and vibrant with colors. I never knew I had it in me. Now I am embolden to explore the extent of my green thumb by planting other types of flowers in our garden or maybe even try planting berries or other fruit crops. Hmmm, I think that would make our garden and roof terrace more colorful and useful.