I see so many photos of beautiful orchid flowers posted on this forum. I have looked back to 2017, the peak of my selling and shipping orchids, and now regret not keeping more really special varieties for my move to Vero Beach. These are just a few of my photos from that year, photos of varieties that I didn't hang onto. This is only ten varieties. I sold all I had of approximately 40 varieties that year alone.

Bc. Golf Green 'Hair Pig' (what a name!)

B. nodosa v. grandiflora

Bc. Star Ruby 'Xanadu' AM/AOS

Rsc. (Blc.) Glenn Maidment 'Aranbeem'

Blc. Hsinying Willette 'No. 9'

Blc. Jeremy Island 'Select'

Blc. Karbela Beauty 'Song of Canary'

Blc. Laura Bush 'Carmela'

Blc. Lily Marie Almas 'MGR'

Blc. Majestic Light 'Glory'

Ken; Your Bc. Golf Green 'Hair Pig' had the prettiest pink tint to that ruffled lip Hoping mine will too.

I hope yours will, Glenn. Man, I wish I had had the foresight to keep dozens more varieties than I did. There were so many (moving) decisions that had to be made (what to do with 3 greenhouses for example) at the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018, that I simply didn't consider the fact that I would not be able to replace most of those varieties that I had and that I sold out of.

Look at it this way Ken. Regrets are bound to be there. We all have them. Just think about all the people that you made happy with all of those orchids back in 2017-18!
That happiness that you provided them is priceless!

Exactly Bill!
And Ken , you have those gorgeous photos to keep!

Thanks, all. There's nothing to substitute for those flowers, and their fragrances. I think this spring, perhaps late winter, I'll bite the bullet and purchase orchids in bulk, orchids that I want at least one of for my own collection. I should easily be able to sell the excess ones.

Don't tell my wife. She'll have a hissy-fit.

Mum is the word!

Ken, they sure were pretty!! When you sold them, you gave away a piece of yourself since you grew them, and that was a nice thing!

Thank you, Ursula. I simply can't seem to muster up feeling good about selling so many varieties, some with drop-dead, gorgeous flowers. You've heard of buyer's remorse? I have seller's remorse.

Ken...luckily, you don't have to spend too much time looking back. With all the great Florida growers and shows that we have, plus being able to STILL do bulk orders from Hawaii. You will soon have a new struggle of where to put all these great plants...just don't sell the last one of each thing.

It's a different mentality, Lindsey, when growing for pleasure, growing for sales, and growing to satisfy both. I never needed to sale a single plant, but enjoying that aspect. Perhaps I was meant to be a car salesman............. I guess I have reverted back to the "pleasure" side, but I still have interest in selling too. Selling has another aspect too. I left all my long-time friends when I moved, and selling does allow me the opportunity to meet people, people who have a similar interest as I.

Just my opinion here, but I'd avoid the hissy fit, Ken. You don't need to buy orchids in bulk to get more of the ones you liked. Just order one or two from Hawaii or California for yourself.

Better yet, plan a few more trips around the spring orchid show dates and a visit to Apopka as well, of course. Pick out some new things or take a list and make it a quest to find the old ones that you want.

I'm thinking I'll have to make the pilgrimage to the Redlands show, and the big Tamiami one, some day. Tamiami is in mid-January, and Redlands is mid-May at the Fruit and Spice park which I'd really love to visit again, too.

Good ideas, Elaine.

Growing tropicals is fun and rewarding as well, but I sort of miss some of my selling. This might not make sense to a lot of folks, but selling here in Florida is very different than it was in Mississippi. Before, 95% of what I sold, I shipped, and that really took a lot of time and effort. Here, most of what I post and sell is done towards locals. I enjoy meeting people who have similar interests as I do, even if they are newbies to tropicals. Here in Vero, we have so many residents that are new residents and know practically nothing about growing tropicals. I like the education side of what I do too. I still do a little bit of shipping, but having it limited, there's little work involved.

We'll see what happens after a couple of months. I might decide that I don't want to get back into selling orchids, even at a reduced level.

Ken, I understand what you mean about meeting new people. We both left well established lives at our last home and are starting over now. It is tough at our age. I would love to join the St. Augustine Orchid Society, I have an online membership so I can read their newsletter but their meetings sound terrific. They meet at night however and driving 20 miles in the dark on 95 is not my cup of tea. Perhaps you have a local group you could participate with. As Lindsey and Bill have described, the speakers bring all sorts of cool material for sale. It would not be at the wholesale price but it would be special plants and you would not cause any hissy fits. (I know all about hissy fits, I am rather good at them myself, but they are tiring and you would not want to do that to your Kathy.)

Alice. You simply MUST join a society! Yes, I know the trepidation of driving at night, I completely understand! But I feel that what you gain from joining and attending will outweigh that issue.
Besides speakers, there is a raffle typically, a show table with members plants, plants for sale, refreshments and a bunch of friendly people. Imagine 50, 60, 100 people in a room and we all love orchids!!
The speakers often bring plants for sale but it's the membership, the sharing of info that is just wonderful! Everyone is so happy to share knowledge.
I apologize when I suggest that driving on the interstate, unlit, at night can be horrifying but could you take better lit back roads at night to get back and forth? During the spring and summer the trip to the meeting should be okay due to longer days.
Plus the St. Augustine group is a great group. One of the better societies around. Please please please give it a try. Go to 3 meetings and tell me how much fun you are having!!!

Bill, I am just waiting for spring and lighter, brighter evenings, I'll go t meetings then. Their website and FaceBook pages are amazing, they have some good growers and exceptional speakers. Sadly the back roads are less safe than the highway, they have only 2 lanes and ditches rather than shoulders.

The hissy-fit statement was sort of tongue-in-cheek, Alice.

We have dear friends (I'm basically talking about the guys) that are our age who have absolutely no hobbies and few interests. Most of them were golfers, some avid and some who played only to get out of the house and be with their friends. Few of them now play at all, after hip, knee, and shoulder replacements and/or bad backs. A few were hunters or fishers, but again, because of physical issues, can't follow those interests very well. Mostly, most of these old friends just stay home (sometimes with a book), sitting in front of a computer or TV, watching the world go by.

I never played golf, though sort of considered taking up the sport when I was in my 30's. My golfing friends told me not to do so. I had a type A personality and was something of a perfectionist (and still am, but have "softened" over the years), and they said that the sport would tear me apart. Whether true or not, I listened to them and never played. I was a hunter and hunted most of the wild game in North America. I've killed enough animals and don't care to harm another creature. I sold the majority of my "arsenal". I was also an avid fisher, mostly big-time, offshore fishing, but that eventually, physically, wore me out. I donated my yacht to my university to be used in marine research.

All along, I grew tropicals, though I wasn't in a tropical or subtropical area. It was simply a hobby during my working years, but when I retired eight years ago, it became my avocation, something I became pretty passionate about. I simply couldn't sit at home doing nothing, so to give me something meaningful to do, I began 'Tropical Plants & More'.

My wife has always been a great supporter of my horticultural interests. She understands that I have a need to be active and to have accomplishments. She has an ulterior motive as well. She's an artist and loves to paint my tropical flowers. She does worry about me at my age and wouldn't want to see me involve myself with that business again, other than at a greatly reduced level. She knows I enjoy meeting and talking with folks about what I do and also understands that when I sell a plant, I consider that a fulfillment of my efforts. So, she wouldn't throw a fit if I purchased orchids again, but you better believe that she would caution me not to go overboard. She knows that the last full year of 'Tropical Plants & More' (2017) wore me out and she doesn't want to have that happen again. By the way, I shipped out over 700 boxes of plants that year alone, mostly orchids.

As I said, time will tell whether I will even purchase plants at wholesale again. I've come close a couple of times, and then, after putting together an order, I got cold feet before the order was placed.

Ken, reading this I totally get that!
If I don't have a project going, I wouldn't know what to do with myself on those evenings! I always have a sweater/ jacket whatever in progress to keep me engaged. This year I made in addition ca 100 Macrame bracelets, many of them tailored to the seasons and I just give them out. It makes me happy!


Silly enough?

Merry Christmas, Ursula, and everyone.