An orchid oasis blooms inside a modest, low-slung building on the outskirts of Ithaca, New York. Something quite unique bursts with color and warmth here, in all seasons, even amidst the dark of winter and the fickle spring. The Orchid Place, as it is so simply known, houses thousands of lustrous orchids with tender flowers—colors delicate or bold—perched like butterflies on graceful arching stems. These beauties are destined for sale throughout the region, bringing any number of sentiments—like love or gratitude or hope—to their recipients.
If you stop in the showroom at The Orchid Place, you might meet Kate Liu, the current overseer of the operation. Plants, pots, and other supplies are displayed for sale here, but the true bustle of activity is in the next building over, where tractor-trailers back up to the overhead door to unload seven or eight thousand plants at a time. Meanwhile, several white, nondescript delivery vans await their loads in the gravel parking lot.
The flowers themselves are slow growing, but The Orchid Place is far from slow going. The three in charge here are constantly on the move. Kate’s husband, Wayne, arranges delivery schedules, her brother Henry manages the greenhouse, and Kate herself handles orders—and keeps her cell phone on her hip, answering calls about orders or job applications as she attends to other tasks. They all hustle from one place to another.
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