Neill and Fely Sams of Orchid Alley Kaua‘i have been growing and selling award-winning orchids for 15 years. Orchids grow in three greenhouses on the couple’s 1.6-acre property in Kapa‘a.<\/p>\n
A new gift shop in the back of the nursery features Kaua‘i-made products such as handmade tapa cloth by Masi, orchid photography by Ada Koene, crystalline pottery by Robbrecht Troost and metallic prints by MidWeek Kaua‘i <\/em>contributing photographer Daniel Lane of Pono Photo (aka my husband).<\/p>\n Neill won Best Authentic Tropical Landscape at the 2012 Philadelphia Flower Show. His winning entry, a 20-foot-long driftwood waterfall and wishing well, will be erected in front of the gift shop. Orchids and other tropical plants will be tucked around the waterfall to create a garden setting where shoppers can sit and relax.<\/p>\n FRAGRANT ORCHIDS <\/strong>Orchid Alley Kaua‘i is celebrating Valentine’s Day by offering scented orchid baskets. About 10 percent of orchids are scented, which is a method for attracting a pollinating insect. Male bees collect the fragrance and use it to court females. Many orchid fragrances appear at a certain time of day, usually influenced by light, temperature or other aspects of the plant’s immediate surroundings.<\/p>\n Oncidium Sharry Baby<\/em>, also known as Chocolate Orchid, produces a chocolate scent that floats from dozens of small blossoms. Sharry Baby blooms are festive splashes of chocolate and white. The flowers appear to be soft and delicate, but the petals have a firm, almost leathery feel to them. Sharry Baby is considered a random bloomer, and will produce consistent flowers throughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\t\t