PASSION FOR ORCHIDS

The scent of this orchid is amazing, pure chocolate! The flowers will last only for a very short time, a week perhaps.

Did you know that vanilla is actually an orchid? I didn't - until last weekend, when I visited our friends Dermot and Heather who are both keen gardeners. Heather is fond of aloes and cactuses, whereas Dermot's speciality are orchids.

- You just have to come and see this particular orchid, it is excuisite! they said.

So we went to have a look at it and what a beauty it was. Cream white in colour with a pattern on the petals, fully opened, it looked very delicate indeed. But the real surprise was yet to come: it had a very strong scent of chocholate. It is difficult to imagine that an orchide could produce such a scent, but there it was, like an expensive perfume.

Dermot has been a passionate collector of orchids for years now. He is the most unlikely candidate to be one, working in a very male dominated environment and being totally at home surrounded by heavy machinery, engines, boats - you name it. The first time I heard about Dermot and the orchids, I was truly suprised. But since then I have learned that he is not the only man who is interested in orchids in Lilongwe - there are others who are equally enchanted by them.

Each bulb in this orchid represent one year's growth.

Like any true collector, Dermot wants to have everything. Every variety intrests him. Every shape, colour and size of the flower is important. And this is the suprising thing about orchids: the varieties, colour combinations and details are endless. The flowers might be tiny or very large or something in between. They could last some days to several weeks. The flowers might appear as in a traditional pot plant or they could break through any medium and flower underneath the pot or log of wood. Orchids growing in the wild are a different story altogether compared to their commercially produced sisters. There are approximately 20 000 species of orchids in the world and they can be found almost everywhere, with one exception, the Antarctica.

Malawi is famous for orchids. They are especially abundant this time of year, during the rainy season, in January/February. The north is the best place to see them, but Zomba Plateau in the south is also a prime orchid area. No doubt there are hidden corners of Malawi where nobody would expect to see orchids, yet there they are.

Dermot sees them everywhere and anytime. In his travels around the country he has spotted them on the roadside, on trees, on the ground.. He has a special orchid house at home where the plants are hanging in baskets or on logs of wood.
Sadly, orchids are under threat in Malawi - deforestation is destroying the natural habitat of these beautiful plants. By collecting orchids and talking about them, Dermot hopes that more people would become aware of the need to protect them and that orchids would survive another hundred years in this country.

The roots complement the main flowers.

PS. The best book I have read about orchids is Orchid Fever by Eric Hansen (published in 2000 by Methuen Publishing Ltd.) Well worth getting a copy - reads like a mystery novel!