Quiet for the Weekend – January 25-27, 2013

This place is good for my soul.

It consists of row after row of large, rather ugly warehouses.
And one of those warehouses has a sliding door that opens
to this . . .

. . . and this.
Brilliant colors, exotic shapes, with just a hint of a tropical paradise somewhere.

Phaelonopsis (butterfly orchid). . .

some of them strange and wonderful indeed,

and some of them as familiar as that corsage you wore to the prom 40 years ago.

Just outside another set of sliding doors is the cymbidium garden,
larger pots, less expensive flowers.
And just over their shoulders are these up-and-comers,
mere shadows of the rows and rows and rows behind doors that don’t slide
all over this very large piece of property.

If your local Trader Joe’s stocks orchids, it is likely that some of them came from
warehouses in Santa Barbara and Goleta.
And all this glory is 15 minutes from my front door.

This is the time of year for orchid shows,
and these are some of the newer looking flowers I saw today.
These busy hybridizers are always creating something new and lovely to enjoy.

Just take a gander at this array of color – bright yellow, ivory, chartreuse, deep red.
Oh, my!
Thank you, Lord, for letting us partner with you
in the creation of lovely things.


 

“A woman loves orchids, because they make her feel like she’s floating on a cloud of possibility”.
— from the movie, “A Perfect Man”

Joining with Sandy and Deidra and their invitation to slow down and savor.

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Comments

  1. Beautiful photos. Thank you for sharing. Praise to the Lord for the wonder of His creation!

  2. That last image especially is gorgeous!

  3. Well, now my longing for spring is even greater! Enjoyed the beautiful pictures, I would also enjoy being 15 minutes from all that beauty!

    • I do enjoy being this close to all kinds of beautiful places and things. And yes, seeing a warehouse full of blooms does make us long for real spring.

  4. Lovely captures, Diana! Such exotic beauties, most of us only get to enjoy the blooms in passing. How blessed you are! Thank you for sharing.

    • Thanks for coming by, June. I am often grateful for the proximity of this space and how it ministers to me in unexpected ways.

  5. Such a feast! Such a marvelous “artist’s date” [Julia Cameron]. Such a tribute to the co-creator relationship that we have with our God.

  6. Gorgeous, what beauty indeed. The colors, the shapes, the exquisite intricacies. That you shared this is a gift indeed.

  7. I so love orchids! My favorite flower! I was twitching at your photos. I wanted my wedding bouquet to just overflow with orchids. . . What a joyful time to walk around such beauty.

    • It was a lovely small break in the day and I had fun putting together a birthday basket for my daughter and son-in-law. Just home now from a fun family celebration of 4 January birthdays. Hope the twitching has stopped by now. :>)

  8. Beautiful!!

    I would like the chocolate ones please 🙂