Larry Hurley’s Photo Of The Week: An Orchid for the Garden

February 12, 2025
Larry Hurley
House Plants, Perennial Plants
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Ladies Tresses Orchids by Larry Hurley at Longwood Gardens

I hope you have had a chance to visit one of the orchid shows around your area this winter. They are always a nice change from the cold, and bring thoughts of tropical travels. So many kinds and colors!

You might like to try one in your garden if you have a spot. The photo was taken in October of 2009 at Longwood Gardens. The white flowers are Ladies’ Tresses orchids (Spiranthes) with pitcher plants at the base.

These are planted in a container that stays wet, simulating the boggy conditions that the plants grow in naturally. Both are native to the mid-Atlantic.

I grew Ladies’ Tresses in a mixed container when I was working at Behnke’s. It was a rather large container, with regular potting soil, and the plants overwintered for several years. I eventually planted them out in the garden near my pond. They actually seeded out and for years they would appear growing through the mulch at the edges of a pathway on the damp side of the yard. In the wild, I’ve seen them growing in drainage ditches. So the key is moisture. If you have partial shade and a moist location, give them a try. Or, try them in a boggy pot. Always nice to see perennials in bloom in the late fall.

Look for them at your local garden center. They might have them, although it’s not something that is routinely offered.

Plant Delights Nursery offers them by mail order, the cultivar ‘Chadd’s Ford.’

Larry Hurley

Larry Hurley worked at Behnke Nurseries from 1984 until the business was composted in 2019, primarily with the perennial department in growing, buying and sales.

Before landing at Behnke’s, he worked as a technician in a tissue culture lab, a houseplant “expert” at a florist shop, and inventory controller at a wholesale nursery in Dallas. With this and that, ten years passed.

When his wife Carolyn accepted a position at Georgetown University, Larry was hired at Behnke’s for the perennial growing department and garden center at Behnke’s Largo location.

In 2021, Larry and Carolyn moved back to Wisconsin to be closer to family and further from traffic. After 37 years in a shaded yard in Maryland, he is happy to have a sunny lot where he can grow all sorts of new perennials, if only he can keep the rabbits at bay. He also enjoys cooking, traveling, and the snowblower.