I can’t resist a plant in distress

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A couple of days ago I was cycling home when I spotted an orchid that had been left at the base of one of the street trees that I passed. At first I thought perhaps someone had been doing some ‘guerilla gardening’ (secretly planting flowers in public spaces) but it wasn’t planted, just left on the surface, and anyway it was a tropical Phalaenopsis orchid that would never survive outdoors here. Then I thought perhaps flowers had been left there in remembrance of someone, but it didn’t seem to have been put there very tidily, just pulled out of its pot and dropped on the ground. So of course I picked it up and brought it home. I can never resist a plant in distress! Luckily I already had half a bag of orchid compost so I’ve found it a pot and put it on the north-facing windowsill where I already have three similar orchids that seem happy. I’ll just have to wait and see. The catch is that these orchids are very slow to grow and also slow to die, so I won’t really know for quite a while whether it will thrive or even survive. Fingers crossed! All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2026.