Blanche Update #3

Several of you have asked about Blanche -- the orchid that was presented to us last summer by my wonderful sister.

You may recall that Blanche originally came with a set of 10 beautiful, pure white blossoms. She shed these after several weeks and proceeded to produce a new set of 10 beautiful, pure white blossoms.

Roughly two months ago, she shed them as well and looked as if she were going into a dormant state for the winter. Deb stopped into our local florist to find out if there was anything we should do to keep the plant healthy through the winter. The florist was surprised to hear that Blanche would produce two full sets of blossoms in a single season -- and that whatever we were doing was clearly the right thing. So we've been placing her in direct sunlight every day, and the large green leaves at the base of the plant look perfectly healthy and busy doing that photosynthesis thingy that plants do.

Aaaand we were a bit surprised, but delighted, when Blanche started to produce yet another branch with buds on it a week or so ago. She clearly has in mind to produce a new set of blossoms mid-winter.

(The branch in question is the green "stick" at the top of the plant, pointing off to the left. As before, you can click on the photo to get a full-size view.)

There's a metaphor available here -- about renewal and determination to live life fully at the height of summer or the depths of winter. I leave the details of the metaphor up to you, dear reader, to fill in as feels best to you.