A Passion for Orchids: Pots, Saucers and Bookshelves Add Up to Success

摘要

MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH ORCHIDS started in 1998 when I was working as a flavor chemist for Nabisco Foods in East Hanover, New Jersey, and my boss gave me my first dendrobium as a birthday gift. I've always liked plants, even when I resided in Caracas, Venezuela, where I was born and lived during the first half of my life. Initially, my attraction was directed to a diverse group of plants, including ferns, bromeliads, miniature trees, African violets, succulents and other tropicals. And then that dendrobium entered my life. As my collection of orchids grew, I realized that if I wanted to be good at something I would have to specialize and focus on one plant family. That opportunity arrived in 2006 when I accepted a good job with the wine industry in California. Most people have cats or dogs as pets (mine were my plants), and they travel wherever their masters go for work, but for me, there were too many plants to relocate to my new residence. Therefore, before I moved west, I organized a farewell gathering in my New Jersey townhouse.