Professor Edgar Suarez is our kindly Costa Rica orchid tutor and he and his cheerful wife Idania obviously have a real passion for orchids.
They welcomed us into their small, comfortable home in the center of San Jose where the Costa Rica orchid course is held in their luscious back garden surrounded by hundreds of Costa Rica orchids in various stages of development.
Costa Rica Orchids Video Slideshow
The Costa Rica orchid course lasts for three hours every Saturday for six weeks and costs only about US$70.
At the beginning of every lesson, there is an 'oracioncito' - a small prayer and it is comforting that this small group of passionate Ticos like to give thanks to God (Gracias a Díos) for the good and simple things in life including all those beautiful Costa Rica orchids.
There are approximately 25,000 species of orchids in the wild and perhaps another 25,000 varieties of hybrids that have been catalogued. Orchids occur naturally all over the world with the exception of Antarctica and have even been encountered at elevations of 14,000 feet.
These are the traits that virtually all orchids share:
- Long lived herbaceous perennial
- Three sepals and three petals (the most important one is called the lip or labellum)
- The column (the male and female tissues)
- Pollen gathered in larger bodies called pollinia
- An inferior ovary
- Wind dispersed seeds lacking an endosperm
The Costa Rica national flower - the Guaria Morada (Cattleya skinneri) is bold, large and violet, and also happens to be an orchid. Two of the best locations to indulge in orchids are Lankaster Gardens, on the outskirts of Cartago, and the Orchid Project, found in Monteverde.
There are estimated to be about 1,400 different Costa Rica orchids, 386 of them are found nowhere else in the world and the major problem for me here was 'Which photographs do I include?"
They are all so gorgeous and a few of them smell delicious too but unfortunately 'scratch and sniff' has not yet been developed for the computer so we can't help with that part of the equation...
Professor Suarez or 'Don Edgar' is a knowledgeable and caring teacher who tries hard to make sure that everyone knows what's going on which includes this Brit who's Spanish is not fluent but who still managed to understand 90% of what's going on and as usual, there is always some kind-hearted Tica lady there who seems very enthusiastic about helping me with my Spanish (?)
The course is quite comprehensive with sections about:
Identifying the different parts of an orchid
Becoming familar with the the most common types of orchids
Learning how orchids reproduce
What are the basic necessities an orchid requires to survive
What kinds of containers, substance, supports and positions an orchid prefers
How to care for an orchid and prevent diseases and infections
Costa Rica Is For Orchid Lovers
Returning home from the local Post Office this afternoon 12th October 2010, I bought six beautiful orchids from a professional orchid grower for only 13,000 colones which is about US$25. They make the apartment look so lovely...
Written by Scott Oliver, author of 1. Costa Rica Real Estate Scams & How To Avoid Them, 2. How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa, 3. Costa Rica's Guide To Making Money Offshore and the Director of Costa Rica Living & Retirement - Secrets To Happiness, a new DVD which reveals all with 14 in depth interviews...