Orchid season is once again under way. My cold hardy ladyslippers are in full bloom bringing their beautiful colors and fragrance to the back yard. Every spring I wonder if they survived and get really excited once they begin to grow. I continue to try and capture these orchid blooms from different perspectives each year to bring out their interesting features as the flowers can be quite complex. This is yet to be accomplished but I’ll keep trying.

This year I had a surprise return from one of my orchids. This ladyslipper above did not grow last year so I thought it was no longer alive. To my surprise it emerged again after the past winter and even had a bloom. Orchids have been known to do this on occasion and is not really understood. I’m just extremely happy it’s still alive and growing. Thankfully I still protected it for the winter. It rewarded those efforts.