H O M E
&
G A R D E N
all the pretty
orchids A SON GROWS THE BUSINESS HE AND HIS MOTHER ROOTED 30 YEARS AGO
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BY JAMES DUPREE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN MICHAEL SIMPSON
eff Baldwin, co-founder and sole operator of the Orchid Gallery, gathers a customer’s plants for pickup while Waffles,
his rescue dog, curls up on her bed under the counter. Within the dense vegetation that fills the greenhouse are spots of red, yellow, orange and purple blossoms marking the beginning of the orchid’s blooming season. Behind Jeff is a table covered in an impressive arrangement of 104
CHATHAM MAGAZINE
pink and white orchids rented for an event at Carolina Tiger Rescue. “Orchids are the second largest group of flowering plants in the world,” Jeff says. “There’s [more than] 20,000 species. Some would argue there are 40,000 species.” Many of those species, including hybrids, can be found in the nursery. “We have a Dendrobium that’s 140 years old,” he says. Another customer brought Jeff 20 ghost orchids from an orchid show in Miami. “All she wanted was for me to call her so she could see them bloom.”
APRIL/MAY 2023