Archive for the ‘orchids’ tag
Why Silk Orchids Are Better Than The Real Thing
If you ask 100 people which flower is the most beautiful, 90 of them will probably answer the orchid. But if you ask them, if they have one in their home, most of them will say no. The reason is that it is a very difficult flower to take care of. The solution: the silk orchid.
There are almost no occasion where fake orchids cannot be used. They are great in a pot or a vase in your home; either as a bouquet or just a single stem. But they are probably even greater used for wedding decorations. No matter what you are planning to use the orchids for, they will give a beautiful impression.
Cymbidium and Phalaenopsis orchids are the most popular silk orchids to buy. And the reason is probably that they are also the two most popular real orchid species. But Dendrobium and Vanda are popular orchids. And in contrast to real orchids you can buy all species all year round; even though they normally only are found in the summer in Indonesia.
Contrary to the old days, where a fake flower was made of plastic for leaves and the stem and clothes for the flower, the silk orchids will look exactly like the real thing. But today it is also made of more lifelike materials like silk and nylon.
But it is not only the orchids that can be faked. Also the water in the vase can be made of a transparent polymer-suspension; which can also be used on the flower to simulate dew drops.
Do you sneeze when you are close to flowers? Then you will love artificial orchids. You can decorate your home with hundreds of orchids without a single sneeze. You just have to buy silk orchids instead of the real ones.
Are you a plant-killer? Then faux orchids are the right thing for you. As long as you just dust them regular they will look beautiful for many years. And no one will know that you do not have green fingers.
Normally orchids are very sensitive to heat or cold. If they are placed to hot or cold they will wither. Silk orchids do not have the same problem. They can take both cold winters and hot summers without any problems.
Silk orchids look as good as real orchids; sometime they even look better. And if you add all the advantages compared to real orchids, there are no reason why you should not buy silk orchids instead of a real orchids, if you want to decorate your home or your wedding.
Martin Elmer is the editor of Silk Orchids Garden – a website about orchids artificial. Here you can also read more about silk orchid bouquet.
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Faham Orchids, Faham Tea
Orchids are among the natural world’s most stunning objects. For many among us, they bring happiness simply by their presence in our houses or our gardens. Nevertheless it must be conceded that aside from their loveliness, orchids have little practical value for human beings, with the singular exception of that estimable orchid that give us our vanilla flavoring.
If you had lived 80 to a hundred years ago, though, you might have had the chance to sip a delicious tea made from the leaves of one of a rare orchid. This drink — called Faham tea — achieved some popularity in France in the early 20th century. It was made from the pungent leaves of the Angraecum fragrans orchid (sometimes alternately recorded as the Jumella fragrans).
The rare orchid was native to the Isle de Reunion off the coast of Africa. An epiphytal species known to the locals as “faham,” the indigenous people of Reunion are said to have been the first to discover how tasty it was when made into a tea.
An article in a horticultual journal of 1924 noted that Faham tea had been introduced into France, where some people were drinking it as a substitute for “Chinese” (i.e., regular) tea. “Every work on botany of any importance similarly places it in the foremost rank of the beneficial productions of this favored clime (Reunion),” the writer says. “One of our most illustrious writers George Sand eulogizes it in the midst of the fine description of the Island of Bourbon.” Bourbon was the previous name for Reunion, by the way.
The orchid in question was known to grow high on the slopes of Reunion, in the midst of almost inaccessible forests. The problems inherent in gathering a large supply of the plant meant that Faham tea, as a commercially viable product, was doomed to failure. Despite general agreement as to the tea’s tastiness, it was completely forgotten by mid- 20th century.
Most of us will never know what Faham tea tasted like. But if you happen to be fortunate enough to have a specimen or two of the necessary orchid, you could sacrifice a few leaves and make some yourself. To brew the tea, you first bring water to a boil in a tea kettle. Then you add some dried orchid leaves (about as much per cup as you would regular tea) to the water, turning off the heat and allowing it to steep for three or four minutes.
A circular advertising from the 1920s advertising Faham tea says:
It can be used as a substitute for tea on all occasions as it combines its tonic and digestive qualities free from the sleepless effect. It possesses an aroma of great delicacy capable of being rendered more or less pungent according to the quantity used and it gives forth a most agreeable perfume. After being drank it leaves a lasting fragrance in the mouth and in a closed room the odor of it can be recognized long after.
This beverage has the further advantage over tea which requires to be drank at the time of making in that it can be reserved for a future occasion if requisite and may either be taken cold or made hot again. Milk or spirits in small quantities, especially rum, serve to develope its aroma and lending it additional delicacy or greater strength render it a delicious drink. Lastly this valuable plant is made use of to flavor custards and ices to which it communicates its delicate fragrance.
Sounds delicious. Faham tea, anyone?
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